What's Left of Me
by Authoress-in-training
Summary: Now that Taylor's gone for good, junior year will be drama-free - right? Wrong. Look out, Alyssa - things are about to get personal... PART 3 OF 3
1. Chapter 1

****If by some random chance, you're reading this right now and you have not read the first two books, PLEASE go read them now - What Comes Next and then What's Past is Prologue. You will be horribly, horribly lost without them, and also get some MAJOR MAJOR spoilers.****

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><p>Chapter One<p>

"You guys really don't have to do this," I insisted for what felt like the thousandth time this afternoon, watching as Mom struggled to carry one of my overstuffed suitcases.

"It's nothing, Alyssa," she said, even though her body language said otherwise – her face was growing steadily redder and it looked like she was fighting hard just to stay upright.

Behind her, Dad rolled his eyes. "Bloom, you're a fairy. Didn't it ever occur to you to use magic?" He snapped his fingers, and the bag she'd been struggling with levitated itself in the air, balancing on invisible air currents, along with my two others.

"I had it under control, you know," she insisted vainly, her eyes narrowing further as he chuckled softly.

"Of course you did, my love," he said in a teasing tone, seeming to enjoy infuriating her. Just when I thought she might actually spell him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him, capturing her lips with his for a very long and passionate kiss that made me – the unwilling spectator – cringe.

Sensing an opening, I pounced. "Okay, you two, thanks for all the help, I can take it from here. Have a safe trip home. Love you both. Bye!" Taking control of the bags, I turned and started to sprint in the direction of Alfea.

"Not so fast, young lady." Suddenly, I felt something pulling me backwards, like a rubber band recoiling around my middle. The bags landed with a thud at my feet as I found myself unable to move, staring angrily into Dad's eyes.

"Very funny, Dad." I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him my best attempt at a "death stare". "I'm almost seventeen – that you don't trust me to get back to school on my own is a little ridiculous."

"Honey, it's not that we don't trust you," Mom said, wrapping an arm around Dad's shoulders, pressing herself against his side. "Your father and I are just… worried about you. After all that you've been through in the last two years…" She bit her bottom lip and averted her gaze, as if scared to look me in the eye.

I sighed. So _that_ was what this was about.

Mom was right – my experiences at Alfea thus far had been, for lack of a better term, _eventful_. Freshman year, I found out that my dad was a reformed convict who had lied to me for all of my life, and that my mom was not in fact dead but had been sealed in a locket since I was four. And oh yeah, my crazy roommate tried to murder me – and almost succeeded. Then last year, my boyfriend's bitchy ex-girlfriend showed up at Alfea hell-bent on getting him back, and my parents almost split up because Dad caught Mom kissing her high school sweetheart (thankfully, it was all a big misunderstanding). But by far the worst was Miriam's betrayal.

Miriam, my new roommate and the girl who rapidly became my best friend and closest confidante – much to my other friends' disdain – had secretly been spying for Taylor (the aforementioned crazy former roommate), who was her cousin.

The pain from finding out the truth had lingered much longer than the resulting battle wounds (did I forget to mention that Miriam gave Taylor access to Alfea, and she almost killed me _again_?). I never even got to look Miriam in the eye and ask her why she did it. Sometime while Taylor and I were hurling magic at each other, she apparently packed up her stuff and disappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a cryptic note to explain herself.

So yeah, I'd been a little out of sorts ever since, but could anyone really blame me? Ever since I had set foot on Alfea's campus, crazy (and oftentimes dangerous) things had been happening to me almost nonstop. But there had also been good things, wonderful things, breathtakingly amazing things – getting out from under my dad's thumb, freedom to be a normal teenager, meeting the best friends a girl could ask for, falling in love with the most perfect guy in the universe…

For better or for worse, Alfea had become my home. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving it.

Taking a deep breath to gather my courage, I stared Mom straight in the eyes. "If I recall correctly, you had a lot of crazy experiences at Alfea. But did you ever give up? I don't think so. So why would you expect me to do that?"

Mom gave me a look that was halfway between astonishment and pity (as weird of a combination as it sounds), while Dad stared at me with something that looked a lot like pride, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "That's my girl," he said softly, almost under his breath. I had a feeling it was meant for me to hear, and not Mom.

"Sweetheart, I'm just worried about you," Mom insisted. "I couldn't live with myself if anything truly tragic ever happened to you, not after I've missed so much of your life so far."

I sighed. "I see where you're coming from, Mom, I really do. But I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself. And I love Alfea. So there is absolutely nothing you can say or do that will make me decide not to go back for my final year."

Mom smiled at me sadly and shook her head, her shoulders slumping with defeat. "There's a bit more of your father in you than I thought," was all she said, before pulling me into a tight, crushing hug. "Just have fun and _be safe_," she urged, "Call us any time you feel like it. I mean it. No time is an inconvenient time to call."

"Relax, Bloom," Dad said, subtly prying Mom off me. "You give Alyssa far too little credit sometimes. She's _our_ daughter, after all. It'll take more than some pampered brat psychopath to break her." He chuckled.

"It's a mother's prerogative to worry, especially when her daughter seems to have a certain knack for getting into trouble," Mom insisted, her cheeks starting to redden.

"Like mother like daughter, eh?" There was a teasing lilt to his voice, but the direction their conversation had taken was starting to worry me. My parents were quite fond of jokey banter and playful faux-fights (probably a lingering remnant from their days as mortal enemies), but I'd seen firsthand how dangerous those could become with the right amount of passion from both sides.

I was almost surprised that Dad was sticking up for me the way he was. He'd raised me by himself for ten years, and there had been no love lost in that household; part of the reason I had been so grateful to get to Alfea. Then when Mom returned, I'd started spending all my time with her whenever I was home. It wasn't like an intentional snub – on either of our parts – but the facts still stood that my relationship with my dad had always been a little strained. But then, I suppose considering his history, he would be the one to agree with me on this.

"Am I still needed here?" I interjected, hoping to break up the growing conflict before it could worsen any further. "Because I kind of have dorm check to go to soon."

Mom looked like she was ready to follow me right back to Alfea and into my dorm room, but thankfully Dad stepped in first. "I guess this is goodbye then, sweetheart," he said, pulling me close and kissing my forehead. "Have fun with your friends, study hard, and don't forget to keep us updated." Mom just smiled tightly and gave me another tight hug, from which I was thankfully able to extricate myself before any bones were broken.

"I will," I said, grabbing my bags and turning towards the path that led right to Alfea's front gates.

Never had I been so glad to see them before.

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><p>"Alyssa!" The second I set foot in my dorm room, I was attacked in another bone-crushing hug, this one from my best friend Lola, princess of Solaria. It was truly amazing how fast that girl could move when properly motivated; all I saw was a blur of blond hair and pink dress before she was on top of me.<p>

Since I hadn't seen her all summer, I let her squeeze the air out of my lungs for a bit, before I squeaked out, "Um, I kinda need to breathe here, Lola."

"Sorry," she giggled, grinning sheepishly at me as she released her stranglehold on my upper body, her hands still gripping my forearms as she gave me a once-over. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Why do you ask?" I shrugged out of her grip and deposited my bags at the side of my bed.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but… you don't look so hot." I fought the urge to roll my eyes; typical Lola, judging by appearances. "Your skin is pale, even though we just got back from summer and everyone is mega-tanned; there are dark circles under your eyes; and you just seem… I don't know, different. Less… vibrant, or something."

I bit my tongue and inhaled deeply, waiting to reply until the initial edge was gone. "I didn't have that great of a summer, Lo. But it's over now. I'm just happy to be back at Alfea." Lola looked unconvinced, so I changed the subject before she could pester me further. "Are the others back yet?"

"Ivy and Aqua are unpacking right now. Dee's been here for hours; I think she's in the computer lab now. And Mel just texted me – she said she'll be here in time for dinner, and that she has a surprise for us."

"What about you? Shouldn't you be unpacking?"

She blinked. "Wait, so you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"I'm moving in with you!" It was then that I noticed the new additions to the other side of my spacious double dorm room – fresh paint, new bedding, different furniture, and heaps and heaps of expensive-looking clothes piled everywhere.

"…You are?" I sort of fell backwards onto my bed, thankfully catching myself in time so I stayed sitting up instead of lying down. "When did _this_ happen?"

"I talked to Faragonda at the end of last year. She agreed that it might be a good idea for your roommate to be one of us, instead of throwing in another person."

"But what about your single?" Lola always bragged about having a single, and all the amazing closet space (which she definitely needed, considering the utter enormity of her wardrobe).

"Oh, don't worry. Faragonda's letting us keep it to use for storage or stuff. Naturally, I'll be keeping a lot of my clothes there. These tiny closets are just _not_ big enough for me." She wrinkled her nose.

There was silence for a moment, before I realized that I was probably supposed to say something here. "Um… that's great!"

It must've been obvious that my enthusiasm was fake, because Lola crossed her arms over her chest and stared me down. "I know you're surprised by all this, but somehow I thought you'd be at least a little more excited, 'Liss."

I shook my head. "Sorry, Lo. I'm a little out of it right now."

She clucked her tongue. "Well _that's_ obvious." Walking back towards her side of the room, she scooped up an oversized white canvas shoulder bag with swirls of rose pink, hot pink, purple, turquoise, and silver patterned all over it. "I'm gonna go into Magix for a while before dinner; scope out the new sales. You wanna come with?"

"I think I need a nap." As if to prove my point, an enormous yawn escaped my mouth, and Lola laughed.

"You certainly do, Sleepy Beauty. I'll come wake you up when I get back if you're not already up, and we can go to dinner with the others."

"Sounds like a plan."

Normally, I liked to unpack by hand rather than "cheating" by using magic, but today, I lacked the energy. So I just snapped my fingers and the bags unzipped and starting unpacking themselves. It took only a couple minutes, and when it was over, everything was in its proper place.

_This was so easy_, I reflected, looking around at my perfectly neat and tidy room, which never looked this way usually. _Why have I never used magic to do my chores before? _Yawning again, I sat back down on my newly made bed and was about to collapse onto the mattress when a flash of white caught my eye from the dresser.

It was a folded piece of plain white paper, wrinkled and creased in many places, ripped a bit at one edge. If someone hadn't known better, they might've said it was trash. By all rights, it _should_ be trash. Yet I had never quite been able to bring myself to throw it out, and had kept it on me or near me all summer.

Almost on autopilot, I reached over onto my dresser, unfolding it and letting my eyes scan across the page. It was unnecessary, really; I had read it so many times, I practically had it memorized.

_Dear Alyssa,_

_ If you're reading this, it means the secret's out. So although you most likely hate me right now, there's something you need to know._

_ Yes, I came to Alfea with the intention of spying for Taylor. Yes, I reported things back to her. Yes, I gave her the code to the protection bubble. I'm ashamed to admit that I did these things, but it's the truth._

_ Why did I do it, then, if I know it was wrong? For better or for worse, Taylor is my family. And before I came to Alfea, I didn't know any better – I believed her when she twisted the truth to her advantage, told me lies about you that made her look like the victim. Now, though, I know that she's a psychopath, and seriously unhinged. That doesn't erase what I've done, but it's something._

_ I came to Alfea as Taylor's spy. But along the way, something unexpected happened – you and your friends took me in. I didn't lie about being home-schooled; Alfea was my first experience with being around so many other girls my age, and it was more than a little overwhelming at first. But you – you accepted me unconditionally, even when the other girls were wary (and rightly so, considering what I was here to do). You defended me fiercely, even at the expense of your other relationships. You gave me the benefit of the doubt, which is something I definitely didn't deserve._

_ You were the best friend I've ever had – and probably ever will have – and how did I repay you? By lying, keeping secrets, and helping my cousin try to kill you._

_ So now I'm going to make things right._

_By the time you find this, I'll already be gone. And I'm not coming back. I don't quite know where I'll go, but I'm going to stay away. So don't go looking for me._

_I'm more sorry than you can possibly imagine for playing even a small part in Taylor's crazy scheme. She's going to get everything that's coming to her, and she'll never bother you again – that I can promise you._

_If I could do things over again, and erase what I did, I would do it in a heartbeat, no matter the price. You are the strongest, most kind-hearted and courageous person I've ever met, and I wish more than anything that I could deserve a friend like you._

_I'll never forget you._

_Love,_

_Miriam_

She had lied to me all year, fed her psychotic cousin info on how to destroy me, driven a wedge between me and the other girls, made me trust her when all along she was planning to stab me in the back… and yet I still wondered about her, wherever she was out there in the magical dimension. _Where_ was she? Was she okay? What was she doing? Had Taylor gotten wind of her last-minute change of heart and gone after her yet?

Most of all, I wondered if it was it wrong of me to still care about her, even a little bit. What she'd done to me had been undeniably horrible, and I hadn't forgotten it _at all_; white-hot anger flared in my chest every time I re-read her admitting to being Taylor's spy. But there was still a part of me that remembered study sessions that turned into giggle-fests, marathon shopping sprees, long talks over hot chocolate when I needed a listening ear and kind advice…

That was the part that had refused to let this letter – the only thing I had left of her – go in the trash, where it undoubtedly belonged. Because despite the awful things she'd done to me, she had also been one of the best friends I'd ever had.

It was irrational, I knew, to keep clinging onto the past like this. Miriam had made her decision – she'd chosen to run, rather than face up to the consequences of her choices. All I could do now was live with things – and keeping her letter so sacrosanct was _not_ helping the moving-on process in any way, shape, or form. It certainly wouldn't conjure her up from wherever she was hiding herself so I could confront her face to face.

Nevertheless, I couldn't imagine throwing away the letter, which was already starting to show its wear and tear from my many, _many_ re-readings. Instead, I shoved it in the top drawer of my dresser; then, mind still clouded with thoughts of Miriam, I drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>**Yes, it's here! The update you've been waiting for all summer is finally here! ;-)**

**Okay, sorry to sound conceited there for a minute. Regardless... Welcome to the first chapter of the final installment of my Gen 2 trilogy, What's Left of Me.**

**This is rather bittersweet - sweet because, of course, I'm starting a new story, but bitter because, well, it's the beginning of the end. That's right, in approximately a year's time (give or take a little bit, depending on how crazy my schedule gets this year), I'm going to have to say goodbye to Alyssa and Co. *sobs***

**But let's not think about that now, shall we? There is still a long way to go, and many, many adventures for the Stunning Six to have before the end is truly in sight.**

**Next chapter will be up whenever I get around to working on it. (Horribly helpful, I know.) I'm sorry, but I can't make any promises, given that school is starting soon and I've got _loads_ on my plate right now (including a new original story that I'm incredibly excited about).**

**Adios, amigos!**

**- Authoress**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_My eyes flew open with a start, as I inhaled sharply. I blinked a few times and scanned the room, quickly realizing that there was nothing out of the ordinary, and then felt stupid for reacting the way I had. Shaking my head, I let out a sigh._

_ And then promptly had the wind knocked out of me, as I went flying across the room, slamming face-first into the opposing wall._

_ "Did you miss me?" an all too familiar voice sneered. I only had a split second to react before Taylor's nails were digging into the back of my neck as she hoisted me up off the ground, her skinny frame hiding a surprising amount of strength. Only once I was sputtering for air, feet kicking uselessly as I dangled several inches off the ground, did she throw me back against the wall again._

_ I closed my eyes as my skull connected with the thick wood and plaster for the second time in about as many minutes, head aching so badly it was hard to concentrate. The pain was so intense it took me almost another minute to realize that the impact against the floor had never come; that instead, I was now chained against the wall, a position eerily reminiscent of my first brush with death._

_ As was Taylor's position a few feet away – her slender, cat-like body advancing forward, blue eyes dancing with an almost inhuman lust for revenge. What was new, though, was the slim silver knife she held clutched in her left hand. My breath caught in my throat._

_ But wait – what was Taylor even doing here in the first place? Wasn't she supposed to be locked up somewhere, after almost killing me twice? What was going on? And why hadn't anyone heard the thuds and come to investigate?_

_ As the thought occurred to me, I opened my mouth – to scream, shout for help, make any kind of noise to get someone's attention and alert them to the psychopath in my room. But Taylor was, as always, one step ahead of me._

_ "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said tauntingly, suddenly right in front of me, the cool metal of the blade pressing against my throat. Her eyes sparkled with laughter, as if this whole thing was somehow funny; but then again, she was insane, after all. "One wrong move and _slice_! Just like that – no more Alyssa." Her glossy lips curled into a mock pout, but her eyes never lost that insane laughing light._

_ "Really, dear cousin, a knife? How primitive." I think my heart stopped beating when another familiar voice slid past my ears, this one slightly lower and breathier but still just as threatening. Turning my head as far as I possibly could with the knife pressed against my throat – only a few inches, but it was enough – I saw my instincts confirmed: there was Miriam, leaning against my dresser, examining her nails._

_ Taylor also turned slightly, never letting up an inch on her grip of the knife. "Miriam, darling, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here today?"_

_"The same as you – unfinished business with a certain redheaded upstart," Miriam drawled, closing the distance between us as Taylor lowered the knife slightly and pressed further. I winced as it broke skin just below my collarbone, and a thin line of blood trickled down, marring the pristine, gleaming silver. "That's enough for now, T," she warned, as more blood started to drip downward. "Too much more and you'll end things before they get interesting."_

_"Oh yes, that would be a pity," Taylor agreed, as she reluctantly dropped the knife. I scrambled to stop the bleeding, but my arms were still locked into heavy metal chains, so all I could do was rattle them uselessly as the blood continued its trail down my chest, staining the neckline of my shirt._

_Miriam chuckled darkly. "Look at her. Such a pathetic excuse for a fairy. She doesn't deserve to be the keeper of the Dragon Fire. She doesn't even deserve to live."_

_"With a slut for a mother and a criminal for a father, it's not much of a surprise," Taylor added, giving me a derisive stare. I could feel my anger flaring at the comments about my parents, but the chains must've been power-inhibitors, because no familiar surge of magic energy rose up to follow it. "Trash like her shouldn't have even been allowed into Magix, much less Alfea."_

_"May I?" Miriam said, asking a question that Taylor seemed to understand. She acquiesced, stepping backwards a bit and crossing her arms over her chest as a satisfied smirk played across her lips; content to watch whatever was about to happen._

_I watched Taylor just for a few moments before my attention snapped back to Miriam, who was now almost nose-to-nose close to me. At this close, I could see her eyes clearly – a beautiful blue-green like the sea, but brimming with hate and malice not unlike her "darling" cousin's. She was so far gone from the girl I had thought I'd known that she was almost a completely different person._

_"Miriam… please," I heard myself plead, in a tiny voice that sounded nothing like my own. "Don't do this to me. We were… friends."_

_She glowered at me; evidently, that was entirely the wrong thing to say. "You moronic, stupid girl. You really thought we were friends? I never even liked you. Staying in your good graces was utterly exhausting. I could not be more glad that it's over – and that now I can do this."_

_All I saw was a flash of red before she lunged at me, long manicured nails extended like blood-red talons aiming for my neck…_

…and I woke with a start in my bed.

My chest heaved with exertion as I sucked air into my lungs, as winded as if I'd just run a marathon. Instinctively, I felt for my neck, but there was no blood or nail-shaped puncture marks; nothing. The room was completely empty, and the only scents were fresh paint mixed with Lola's sugary-spicy Angel perfume.

Finally realizing that it had just been a dream – an incredibly vivid, terribly realistic nightmare – I slumped back down onto the bed, feeling utterly drained.

That horror (because that was the only way to accurately describe it) was not the first of its kind, and would most likely not be the last. No matter how many times I reassured myself that Taylor was locked up in a psych ward somewhere, that Miriam had disappeared into the magical dimension without a trace and that she did not actually hate me and want me dead like her psychotic cousin, the dreams never disappeared completely. I'd tried every sleeping remedy under the sun, and while some actually worked for a little while, it was only a matter of time until the Double Trouble Duo was back, attacking my vulnerable psyche as I slept again.

No one else knew how bad things had become. I'd told my friends about a few of the first ones, but when they started getting more and more frequent and violent, I'd stopped mentioning them. And my one and only attempt to talk to my parents had ended badly before it had even really begun.

Sighing, I rolled over onto my side and buried my head in the pillows again, not even bothering to check the clock to see if I had time to try to get back to sleep. At this point, I knew that more sleep wasn't an option, but maybe if I pretended to be asleep, Lola would let me off the hook for going to dinner whenever she got back from Magix; after that rattling near-death dream experience, socializing was the last thing on my mind.

That strategy only lasted maybe five minutes before the door creaked open and light footsteps bounded across the carpet towards my bed. Fighting the urge to open my eyes and see who was there, I forced myself to remain still, keeping my breathing deep.

What I was not expecting, however, was for said person to throw themselves onto my school-issue (read: tiny) bed next to me. At that, I couldn't fake being asleep anymore, and opened my eyes, something sounding a lot like a low growl forming in the back of my throat.

"Wow, 'Liss, who let the dogs out? I'm sorry I woke you, but I have to say, I didn't imagine you'd be this… upset about it." Mel giggled a bit at her admittedly slightly funny crack. I spared her a brief smile – because it was sort of funny, and I was really happy to see her after what felt like an endless summer – before flopping back down into the pillows.

"Hey Mel. It's good to see you. Did you have a nice summer?"

"Yes I did," she declared happily, scooping up my hands in hers. I couldn't help but notice her manicure – sparkly silver with black tips, like a really crazy French manicure. Not out of character for the edgiest of my friends, but normally tomboyish Mel didn't even bother with manicures. I couldn't help but wonder what I'd missed over the summer.

Recalling something Lola had mentioned earlier from the back of my mind, I mustered up the strength to speak and asked her, "So what's this about having a surprise for us?"

Her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I'm so excited for you guys to see it." Strangely, she started to turn around, gathering her long dark hair up into a high ponytail. I was confused at first, until she added, "Isn't it adorable? I still can't believe my mom was so cool with it."

Then I looked closely at her upper back, which was exposed in the navy blue halter she wore. Between her shoulder blades, right above where the base of her wings would be if she was transformed, was a tattoo – an upside-down treble clef and a bass clef forming a music heart, done in dark blue ink.

"Mel, that's… wow," I said. "What in the realms possessed you to get a tattoo? And you said your mom was cool with it?"

She turned back to face me, her entire face alive with a bubbly kind of happiness that I'd never seen before on sarcastic, edgy Mel. It was sort of sweet to watch. "It was sort of… spur of the moment. Come on, we're late for dinner. I'll tell you all the details on the way."

"Okay fine, but I'm not letting you off the hook, missy. How exactly does one get a tattoo 'spur of the moment'?"

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><p>"So let me get this straight. You bought shoes – a single pair of shoes – that were over five thousand dollars? What is on these things – real gold and diamonds?" Aqua stared incredulously at a reddening Lola.<p>

"Th-they were limited-edition Spella McCartney!" she stammered. "Only five hundred pairs were made in the entire magical dimension. I just had to have them! The daughter of my mother's senior advisor had a pair – there was just no way I couldn't have them." I couldn't help but laugh; typical Lola rational. "And now my parents cut off my credit cards! How am I supposed to live without my babies?"

"Oh, poor Princess Lola," Mel mock-pouted. "However will you survive without an unlimited amount of cash to blow on more stupid clothes and accessories you never seem to wear?"

"I hate to say it, Lo, but maybe this is a good thing," I ventured carefully. "I mean, there's barely space enough in the room for all your stuff as is, and that's even with most of it staying in your old room." Lola still shot me a dirty look.

"Come on, you guys, stop with this already," she pleaded. "Geez, Mel got a freaking tattoo and I don't see you jumping all over her like this."

"That's because I'm just awesome like that," Mel faux-gloated, twirling a bit to show off her tattoo again, which was still exposed with her hair pulled up. Lola pouted as the rest of us cracked up laughing.

We were still laughing as we exited the dining hall in a little cluster, Dee walking and playing some kind of game on her phone at the same time (I swear, that girl has the best radar). I saw more than a few younger girls staring at us as we walked down the hallway back to the rooms – staring at me in particular. Apparently, word of my infamous clash with Taylor had spread to incoming students. I sighed, but couldn't muster the strength to snap at them for gawking, too high on the tingly sort of happiness from seeing my friends again after a summer apart. This was the best I had felt in way too long, and I never wanted to come down.

"We should all sleep in the common room tonight," I suggested, wanting to prolong this joyful feeling for as long as possible. "Watch a movie, do nails, make snacks…"

"It has become something of a tradition," Dee pointed out, looking up from her game briefly and sidestepping another gaping freshman.

"Well alright then," Mel said, slinging her arms around Aqua and Lola, the latter of whom tried not to make a face. "I'll supply the snacks – I hit this sick candy store back home with my mom before I left, and basically bought some of everything. And I do mean everything. Chocolate-covered gumballs, anyone?"

"Sounds perfect." I smiled, inhaling deeply and closing my eyes for a moment to just enjoy the moment.

Then a familiar scent filled my senses, and I instantly gagged.

_Miriam and Taylor._

It was them – their shared signature sweet, flowery perfume. I would've known it anywhere. The scent was in my nose, on my clothes, in my hair, floating in the air all around me. I felt myself physically recoil, shuddering and twitching like a crazy person, as the onlookers started to stare for a very different reason.

"Alyssa! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Lola bent over next to me and reached for my shoulders, trying to steady me.

"No, I'm not okay!" I snapped, feeling like a caged animal. It was in my head now, making me feel foggy even as my heart pounded against my chest. "It's them! That scent! They're here! They're trying to torture me…"

"Alyssa, no one's trying to torture you," Mel said, in an eerily calm and patient voice, like someone trying to pacify a mental patient. "You must be imagining things."

"I'm not imagining it!" I wailed, shaking and on the verge of tears. The scent was all over me. Choking me. "How can you not smell it? It's everywhere! They're everywhere!"

I looked up at my friends, wide-eyed, my pulse visible in my wrists. They simply stared back, disturbed and confused and worried. Other girls in the hallway watched and whispered, some not so kind ones giggling and whipping out phones to text friends – presumably about the "crazy junior" who was having a panic attack at the scent of some perfume.

I took a couple shaky steps backwards, feeling my knees wobble and start to give way, like my body had suddenly become far too heavy for my legs to support. My vision started to blur, as the whispers and giggles and sounds of my friends' voices melded together into a low, steady hum; until all I could hear was my heartbeat, sounding much too fast and loud in my ears.

_I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy…_

"Pardon me, ladies. Excuse me, headmistress coming through." The dignified yet motherly voice of Ms Faragonda broke through the shell between the rest of the world and myself, growing louder in volume as she came to stand before me. She gave a soft gasp, one of the few times I'd ever known her to lose her perfect composure. "My dear girl… what happened here?"

"She just started freaking out, completely out of nowhere," a high, chirpy voice piped up – undoubtedly an underclassman. "Shaking and screaming and acting like a crazy person."

"She said something about perfume, and 'them'," Mel offered.

Other voices started to murmur accounts of what had happened, but Faragonda silenced them. "Let's put that troubled mind to rest, shall we?" Placing her hand on my forehead, she whispered in a voice so low only I could hear, "Be calm, my child."

A soothing wave seemed to wash over me, diluting all my senses until it was as if I had been cut off from the rest of the world.

And then… nothing but darkness.

* * *

><p>When I came to, I was lying on my bed in my dorm room, Ms Faragonda perched on the armchair near my bookcase. "Oh good, you're awake," she said barely a heartbeat after I'd opened my eyes, as she stood up and came to rest on the side of the bed. "How do you feel?"<p>

I blinked a couple times, yawning and stretching my arms over my head. There was an odd sort of stiffness in my limbs. "How long was I out?" I asked, completely disregarding her question.

"A little over an hour. I didn't want to shock you again by bringing you back too soon, and it looked like you could use the uninterrupted rest." Ms Faragonda leaned closer. "Do you mind telling me what happened back there, Alyssa? In your own words?"

I pulled myself into a sitting position, laying back against the pillows to get more comfortable. "I'm so sorry for the disturbance I caused in the hallway," I started, hoping to skirt the actual issue. "I didn't mean to distract so many other students…."

"Alyssa, I don't care about you 'distracting' the other students. In fact, I'm actually somewhat glad that there were so many witnesses, because otherwise I might not have known you were suffering." She leaned in close to me and rested one of her hands on mine, almost motherly. "I'm going to ask you again – what happened to you?"

I inhaled and exhaled deeply several times, trying to figure out the best thing to say. "I'm fine, Ms F. It was just a little freak-out over something tiny that sort of got blown out of control."

"Don't lie to me, Alyssa," she said, her voice stern.

"I'm fine," I repeated, swallowing back the bitter tang of the lie as I forced myself to look her straight in the eyes. "Really. You don't have to worry about me any more than you would any other student."

I could see it in her eyes that she didn't completely believe me, but apparently she decided to let it go. "Alright," she sighed, her tone softening, "if you don't want to talk to me now, that's your choice. I'll leave you to be with your friends. Just know that my office door is always open if you want to talk."

_Yeah_… like I would ever actually take her up on that. As much as I love Ms F and all, there are some things that I don't talk about with _anyone_. And this was the topper to that list.

But instead of saying that, I gave a small smile and replied, "Thank you for calming me, Ms Faragonda."

"You don't have to thank me for that, Alyssa," she chuckled, standing up and smoothing my hair a bit. "You know that I care about you and your well-being."

I bit my bottom lip, seeing the thinly veiled "please tell me what's wrong with you" underneath her statements of caring, and refused to acknowledge it one way or the other. "Have a good night."

"You too, Alyssa." Instead of walking out the door, she simply closed her eyes and vanished on the spot.

Almost as soon as she had disappeared, the door to my room opened and Lola barreled in, closely followed by the others. "Alyssa! You're alright!" she exclaimed, rushing over to my side and throwing her arms around me in a hug that choked the breath out of my lungs.

"Need… air… Lola…" I stuttered out, and she immediately let go of me like she'd been burned with a red-hot iron.

"So do you mind filling us in on what happened back there, 'Liss?" Mel said, crossing her arms over her chest. Though she'd asked it like a question, it was clear from the tone of her voice that 'no' was not an answer.

But as I inhaled, it suddenly hit me how utterly exhausted I was, even despite Faragonda's calming spell. All I wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep – preferably with the aid of a dreamless-sleep spell, so there were no repeats of this afternoon.

About the last thing I wanted to do? Talk about what had happened in the hallway.

_And so I'm not going to_, I decided. It was my business, and therefore my right to choose whether or not I wanted to talk. If the others didn't like that, they would just have to deal.

All of this thinking took place in the span of about thirty seconds, after which I got up and opened my top dresser drawer, searching for pajamas. "Alyssa? Hello?" Aqua waved her hand in front of my face, which was incredibly annoying along with being pointless, considering that I was up and moving around.

"I'm tired," I said simply, pulling out a pair of blue plaid drawstring pants and a matching blue tank top. "I'm calling it an early night. Big day tomorrow and all."

"Oh no you're not, 'Liss," Mel said forcefully, wedging her way between the dresser and me. "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that I _need_ to know what happened back there. I don't care what you told Faragonda or what you say to the rest of campus tomorrow, we're your best friends and we want answers."

"Well then tough," I responded, matching the forceful tone of her voice as I shoved the drawer shut perhaps a touch harder than necessary, causing the dresser to rattle slightly. "It's my business and I don't want to talk. I want to go to bed. Now get out of my room."

Mel opened her mouth to respond (undoubtedly another forceful declaration), but Lola held up a hand to stop her. "Are you sure this is really what you want, 'Liss?" she said softly, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I looked into her hazel eyes, filled with nothing but concern for me, and almost broke. How I'd longed to talk to someone after the worst of my nightmares; have someone else remind me that Taylor was locked up and Miriam was gone, that I was safe now, that there was no need to be so afraid. Of all the girls, I knew that Lola would be the best one to talk to, as well – behind her somewhat ditzy exterior was a heart of gold unmatched by any other person I'd ever met.

But at the last second, I bit my tongue and just said, "Yes, I'm sure."

Lola sighed. "Okay then. If that's what you really want. Come on, girls, let's go watch a movie or something." She turned and started towards the door.

"_What_?" Mel's face was set in a mask of incredulity. "Lola, she just had a panic attack in the middle of a crowded hallway! Don't you think that as her friends, it's our duty to–"

"As her _friends_, it's our 'duty' to respect her wishes. If she doesn't want to talk, then we should give her space." Without saying any more, Lola walked out the door.

Ivy, Dee, and Aqua followed her, Aqua pausing to give Mel a look that was summarily ignored by my newly tattooed friend. Mel stared at me for another second, obviously hoping that without Lola there to play buffer, I'd crack, but I held my ground, staring back at her coolly until she finally gave up and walked off as well, sighing in what sounded a bit like disgust.

I felt bad, watching them all go, but at the same time, I knew that I had made the right choice. Discussing the cause of my 'panic attack' (as Mel had put it) was so not how I wanted to spend the night.

But as I climbed into bed and switched off the lights, I couldn't help but notice that here I was, again, alone. That even though I was back at Alfea, _surrounded_ by people, I was just as isolated as I had been all summer – this time, through choice. Because there were five people on the other side of that wall who would be more than happy to talk to me.

The problem was with me. Or rather, the demons in my head – slim, blonde demons wearing flowery perfume, who were still managing to screw with my life even from afar.

I groaned and rolled over onto the other side of the bed, already resigning myself to another sleepless night.

_And here I thought things would be different once I got back to Alfea…_

* * *

><p>The next morning, I woke up ridiculously early – like, as the sun was coming up. Not wanting to risk waking the other girls, I skipped the shower and used a quick-clean spell instead (ah, the benefits of magic…). Then, after changing into a turquoise tank top, black shorts, and sandals, I grabbed my bag and headed out.<p>

On my way out, I noticed that Lola's bed was still made. Interesting… There was no way she'd already gotten up, and even if she had, Lola almost never made her bed. So where had she slept last night?

The question was answered when I passed by her old single, and heard her signature whimpering sigh-snores (though she fervently denies their existence whenever confronted about them). So she'd given me space. That was… really sweet of her – and only served to make me feel worse about icing her and the others out last night.

_What's done is done. All I can do is try to make up for it now._

Bypassing the cafeteria (it was so early, I doubted breakfast would be set out yet), I paused in the main hallway for a moment, trying to figure out where to go to kill time before classes started. Finally I decided to go to the library, which was open 24/7 for any students who wanted to get in extra study time. At this time of day – on the first day of classes to boot – it would most likely be deserted, so I could have some much-needed solitude to sit and think.

Only when I got there and headed for my favorite alcove in the back, it was already taken.

"Oh, hello," the girl in my favorite cozy armchair said, looking up from what appeared to be a book on spell theory. "I didn't think anyone else would be awake this early. Am I in your favorite spot? I'm sorry. I'll move if you'd like."

"No, it's fine. You were here first," I said automatically, taking her in. She had long honey-blond hair pulled back in a low messy bun, creamy skin with the merest hint of a tan, and warm, inviting golden-brown eyes. A reddish-pink tropical-looking flower was tucked behind her right ear, which matched the matte stain of her full lips. Her style was trendy yet comfortable – a draped cream-colored lace cap-sleeve top and a navy high-waist skirt with subtle pleats, paired with simple black suede flats.

Objectively, she looked nothing like Taylor or Miriam. But just the fact that she was a blond teenage girl was enough to set my heart beating slightly faster than normal.

"My name's Emma," she said, extending a hand with short polished fingernails the same coral color as the flower behind her ear. Her voice was warm and bubbly, with the slightest hint of some kind of accent. "I'm from Delora. And you're Princess Alyssa of Sparx, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," I replied, not taking her outstretched hand. After a few seconds, she pursed her lips slightly and then pulled it back.

"So what brings you here so early? Sleepless night?"

"Something like that."

There was an awkward pause as Emma tried to regain her composure. "So you're a junior, right? So am I. I wonder if we'll have any classes together. I'm really excited to finally get to do Advanced Transfiguration. WizGiz is so nutty, isn't he?"

"Yeah," I said somewhat noncommittally, taking small steps backwards. "Um, I just remembered I left something in my room. I'd better go get it before breakfast. Er, see you around?" I was hurrying away before I could hear her response.

In my heart, I knew that this was nonsensical. There was no intrinsic reason to _not_ trust her – her hair was a darker shade of blond; she was from Delora, not Isis; and she smelled like green apple conditioner instead of flowery perfume. Just because I'd had a few bad experiences didn't mean I had to instantly assume any new person I met wanted to hurt me.

Knowing all that still didn't keep me from beating a hasty retreat, though.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>**So a while back, when I was planning out what was going to happen in each chapter, I certainly hadn't pictured this one being quite so long. At one point, I deliberated splitting it up, but eventually I decided that doing that would screw with the flow of the other events in the next few chapters. So the result is this gargantuan, 8 1/2-page chapter where - actually - very little really happens. Don't kill me!**

**When I say that very little happens, that's sort of untrue. I mean that there are no big strides as far as the overall plot. But this chapter contains a lot of important character set-up and development (or rather, reveal of pre-existing development - ah, you know what I mean). ****Aww, poor Alyssa - she's really a mess, isn't she? Before I forget, a good portion of the panic attack scene comes from "Ambition" by Kate Brian (the seventh book in the Private series, which is maybe my all-time favorite book series; anyone who hasn't read it should go read it, now). I'm really interested to hear your feedback on my portrayal of Alyssa - I'm constantly worried that I'm overdoing her paranoia and craziness; plus, it's really hard to convey the entirety of her 'damage' when she's the narrator, without having her be _too_ self-aware. So how'd I do?**

**A little background info on the character of Emma: she was actually inspired when last year (still while I was working hard on WPIP, not even really thinking about this one yet), I had the crazy fortune of meeting an actual redheaded girl named Alyssa. This Alyssa's best friend was a blond girl named Emma; so forth came this Emma. I know we don't get too much on her right now, but believe me, she does become somewhat important. I would not have taken up valuable page space this chapter with her meeting Alyssa if she wasn't important.**

**Thank Ember for Mel's tattoo - I'd originally intended the line about Mel's surprise to be just a throwaway comment, but then she got all excited about it, so I had to do something. If you want to see it, type in "music heart tattoo" to Google images; that's pretty much what I'd get if I ever got a tattoo (although I'm too much of a wuss about pain to ever get one).**

**Okay, I'm sorry for taking up your space with this crazy-long author's note. Next chapter has a little more plot relevance, and I make no promises as to when it'll be up; it's only a week into the new school year, and already I'm positively _buried_ with homework.**

**Kisses!**

**- Authoress**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I took a deep breath and shifted my weight from one foot to the other, stealing a surreptitious glance at the time on my cell phone and wondering (not for the first time) why Ms Faragonda had called me to her office – and then, apparently, forgotten that she'd done it.

It was several days after my little 'breakdown' in the hallway, and as much as I'd like to say that all had been forgotten, that would be a lie. Most people gave me a wide berth in the hallways, giggling and whispering in that way that I just knew meant they were talking about me behind my back. Those who were 'brave' enough to talk to me always handled it delicately, like I was made of glass and could break at any second – even, sadly, my friends.

And the worst part was? I knew there was really nothing I could do about it. I _had_ sort of brought all this on myself. Even now, if I tried to open up and talk with the other girls, I had a scary feeling things would never be the same.

"Alyssa? Are you there? Come in." Straightening my skirt, I pushed through the door to see Ms Faragonda sitting at her desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork. "So sorry to keep you waiting – I'm afraid I simply got caught up with the usual back to school paperwork. Every year, I seem to magically forget how utterly time-consuming it all is." She sighed heavily and took a long drink from a cup of tea sitting to her right. "Sit down, dear."

I sat, wary. "Is this about the other night again? Because I swear, I'm feeling much better, and nothing even remotely close to that has happened again, and–"

"It's not about that, Alyssa, although I will say again that I'm always here if you want to talk about that." I fought the urge to roll my eyes, digging my fingernails into the side of my arm. "No, this is about something… a bit more serious."

I sat up straighter, officially intrigued-slash-nervous.

"Last year, after the… er, _incident_ with Taylor–" Ms Faragonda looked uncomfortable talking about this, considering that Taylor had breached _her_ security "–did your parents talk to you at all about how you managed to, er, overpower her?"

Immediately, I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding and slumped back down in my chair. So _that_ was what this was about…

_It was a beautiful summer day – or at least, it looked like one through the leaded glass windows of the palace. I'd spent most of my summer inside, curled up in various secluded places with a book or my iPod – the result being, of course, that I'd listened to every song I owned at least ten times and read all the decent books in the palace library (and even cracked a few ancient tomes of Dad's). That was my plan for today, too, except when I made it to the library after my shower, I found a surprise waiting for me in my favorite reading nook – Mom and Dad._

_ "There you are, Alyssa," Mom said, like it was completely normal for the two of them to be in the library together like this. "Come, sit down."_

_ "Am… am I in trouble?" I wondered, cautiously perching on the edge of an armchair. I'd been keeping an extremely low profile all summer, so I had no idea what it would be for…_

_ "No, it's nothing like that," she assured me. "Your father and I just wanted to have a little family chat." I wracked my brains, trying to think of what this might be about, and came up with nothing. Sighing, I settled down further into my chair and stared at Mom, silently accepting whatever was about to happen._

_ "Do you remember how after your… battle, with Taylor, we came and talked to you in the hospital? And your mother started to tell you something, but then I stopped her so you could get some sleep?"_

_ A vague memory of the scene he'd just described pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, although I had no idea why it would be considered important. "Yeah. Why?"_

_ Mom opened her mouth, then hesitated, fiddling with her fingers in the way I had come to recognize meant she was nervous. "While you were… unconscious… Ms Faragonda observed something rather unusual. The doctors ran some tests to confirm it, but even they couldn't explain it until they told us."_

_ "Will you just spit it out?" I blurted. Seeing the shocked look on her face, I added, "Please."_

_ "They found traces of dark magic in the aura around you. And an even larger dose in your bloodstream." Good old reliable Dad – never one to mince words._

_It took a second for the information to sink in. "…How?"_

"_The quantities observed can be fatal," Dad continued, and I grit my teeth, beyond annoyed that he wasn't answering my question. "The doctors were utterly bewildered that you were more or less unharmed, especially considering your power source. But then you are, Alyssa, something of a paradox."_

"_A what?"_

"_Something with qualities that contradict each other," Mom said in a smaller voice, speaking up for the first time since they'd dropped the bomb on me. "It's nothing you can control – it's in your blood. _Our_ blood."_

"_Your mother and I both draw power from the Dragon Fire, as you know. However, she was born from its rightful flame, the true heir to its power. Mine is a little more… disreputable." Dad smirked, and Mom gave a tiny laugh._

"_You carry within you part of the Great Dragon's Flame, just like your father and I do. But since mine is pure and light and his was mixed with darkness, you, my darling daughter, are a paradox."_

"_Dark and light were not meant to mix in the same body. Your mother miscarried before you for that exact reason. It's something of a miracle that you even exist." Mom paled considerably, and Dad squeezed her hand reassuringly. "That, of course, is why you were able to sustain such a high concentration of dark magic without a single side effect. It was your own magic, reawakened after years of lying dormant."_

_My lips formed an "O" shape as I tried to process this new information. I'd long since accepted the weirdness that came with having one of the formerly most-feared dark sorcerers in the magic dimension as a father, and this wasn't even the first time I'd heard about this idea of me having dark magic; Ms Faragonda had mentioned something to the like when she'd first talked to me about my dad freshman year. However, whatever latent dark powers I supposedly possessed had never revealed themselves, and so I'd more or less pushed the idea to the back of my mind. "So… you're saying that when I beat Taylor, that was me somehow activating the part of my powers that are like Dad's?"_

"_Essentially," Dad said._

"_But whatever that dark magic was, it's gone now, right? I mean, my powers have been normal ever since."_

"_Not exactly. It's a part of you, Alyssa, as much a component of your very DNA as your red hair. However, since the overwhelming majority of your magic comes from your mother, most of the time, yes, nothing will be different." He hesitated, and I realized that this was maybe the first time I had ever seen Dad lose his composure. It didn't bode well for whatever he was about to say. "Do you remember what it felt like, beating Taylor?"_

"_Strange… Like a power boost, but sort of darker. It made me feel meaner, less in control – like the magic had a life of its own." I shivered a little bit at the memory of that eerie feeling – like my magic, the one thing that I had always been able to rely on, had suddenly become foreign to me._

_Dad pursed his lips. "You shouldn't have passed out from the attack that led to Taylor's defeat. If it had come from your normal power supply, you wouldn't have. But dark magic is infinitely more complex than its' lighter counterpart. And the sudden activity of your undeveloped dark powers was apparently too much for the rest of your body to handle. Thankfully, all it did this time was exhaust your energy supply, since – as I said before – it was a relatively uncomplicated attack. If something like that were to happen again, though…"_

"_Ms Faragonda thinks that anger arouses your dark magic," Mom said. While Dad had been pontificating on the intricacies of dark magic, she had gotten up and crossed to the window. She turned to face me now, fingertips still pressed to the glass. "The stronger the anger, the greater dark power you draw out. And since you don't know how control it… next time, we might not get so lucky."_

"Yeah," I said finally. "We talked."

Ms Faragonda's expression was unreadable. "I spent many hours conferring with both of your parents and Griffin over the summer, trying to figure out the best way to handle this. You are not the first girl to be born to parents of different magical allegiances, but you are the first with your particular set of circumstances. It's virtually unheard of for someone to practice light magic yet carry and be able to use dark magic at the same time. As such, no one quite knows what to do with you."

"I'm not gonna have to go study at Cloud Tower, am I?" I asked fearfully. Even though all the witches I'd met at inter-school mixers or in Magix had been perfectly polite – albeit aloof and indifferent to my attempts at friendship – the creepy dark castle on the other side of the lake, with its perpetually stormy weather, still freaked me out on a good day.

Ms Faragonda chuckled lightly. "No, I'm afraid you're stuck here with me. You've manifested a fairy form, after all. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you belong at Alfea." I breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned forward and stared at me intently. "I'm sure your father thoroughly scared you into realizing just how serious dark magic can be if mishandled, so I won't bother giving you a speech about it. But you must be taught how to control your dark magic, so it doesn't do worse to you the next time it decides to make itself known."

"So how am I going to do that?" Again, I thought of Cloud Tower, and shivered.

"There was a particular practice I used to implement several years back, after your mother left the school but a bit before your time, where older girls who were particularly accomplished in certain fields would be matched up with younger girls who were interested in further study. Eventually, girls started making it into an excuse to get out of classes and gossip or skip off into Magix to shop, so I had to dissolve it, but I've been thinking about trying to bring it back lately."

"That sounds great and all, but… how does that relate to me?"

"Patience, my dear. I think this last bit will be easier explained when the last member of our little party gets here. She should be here any minute now."

Almost the second the words had left her mouth, the door opened, sending in a wave of spicy-sweet perfume. "You wanted to see me, Ms Faragonda?"

My blood turned to ice at the sound of that voice. Not daring to turn around, I stole a peek at the reflection in the mirror behind Ms Faragonda's desk, and swallowed hard as my suspicions were confirmed.

_Alexa_.

She seemed to notice me at the same time, because in unplanned unison, we both exclaimed, "What is _she_ doing here?"

"Sit down, Alexa." Ms F said, completely unperturbed by all the yelling. "Normally, I would ask if you two know each other already, but in this case I think that question is a moot point." Alexa rolled her eyes, and I bit my tongue, only because I didn't want it to seem like we were agreeing on anything.

Sighing heavily, Alexa pulled out the chair next to mine and plopped down into it, folding her skinny arms across her chest and sticking out her lower lip in a huff. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, noting with chagrin that she looked as perfect and put-together as always, in a short sleeveless navy blue empire-waist sundress with spaghetti straps, a deep V-neck, and a print of small pale purple roses, paired with strappy tan leather wedges. Her long dark hair was pulled up in a messy bun with pieces falling out and artfully framing her face, and her makeup was impeccable as always. A long silver chain with a large silver pendant intricately cut out to look like a rose hung from her neck; I was thankful it wasn't that _A_ pendant she always made a point of reminding me was from Ryan.

"Will you please tell me why she's still here? I thought she was supposed to graduate last year."

"So did I," Alexa muttered under her breath, examining her nails. Ms F shot her a look.

"When Alexa transferred here from Beta Academy, there was some sort of snafu with transferring her credits; long story short, she was technically ineligible to graduate last spring. Instead of making her repeat a year of classes – classes she took last year – I offered to let her stay on as a teacher's assistant to make up for the lost credits. And when it came to deciding what to do about your situation, I realized it must've been fate at work the day those credits were lost. Because Alexa here is uniquely qualified to help you learn what you need to know."

It took a minute for her words to sink in. When they finally did, I couldn't control myself. "You want _her_ to teach me?" I all but shouted, leaping out of my chair in fury. "No way. Not a chance in hell. I won't do it. You'll have to find someone else."

"You really hate me that much, 'Liss?" Alexa drawled sarcastically, looking up from her nails. The sound of my nickname on her lips grated on my nerves.

"First of all, don't call me that. Only my _friends_ call me 'Liss, and we were never friends – seeing as you tried to _steal my boyfriend_ last year."

"Girls!" Ms F snapped, and we both stared at her shamefaced. "I knew there was history between the two of you, but I had hoped you would be able to put it behind you. I can see know that I may have been mistaken. But rest assured, you _will_ learn to get along by the end of this year." She turned to me. "I don't care what horrible offenses Alexa may have done to you in the past – there is no one more qualified to help you here in Magix. And you _must_ learn to control your powers. I hate to do this, but if you won't learn from her, I'll withhold your diploma." My jaw dropped. "It's for your own good, Alyssa. Believe me when I say that I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't."

"Looks like you're stuck with me then, _'Liss_," Alexa remarked, elbowing me a little too forcefully to be friendly. "I'll see you in class!" she called over her shoulder, turning and heading for the door.

My hands balled themselves into fists of their own accord. "Can you at least tell me_ why_? Why her, of all people? Why did you say she's so 'uniquely qualified' to help me? What is your reasoning for forcing me to spend time with the girl I hate the most of anyone in Magix?"

Ms F hesitated. "It's… a long story. Ask her yourself in your first training session. Maybe it'll help you two bond."

I scoffed. "Yeah right." Pushing back my chair with a scrape of wood on tile floor, I headed towards the door.

"You'll thank me for this at the end of the year," she added, as my hand closed around the doorknob.

"I highly doubt it," I muttered under my breath, closing the door with a touch more force than necessary. As wrong as it was, I got a little sense of contentment when I heard the _slam_.

Out in the hallway, I took a few steps in the direction of my dorm, then paused at a window, pressing my forehead against the glass and closing my eyes. _I can't believe this… Alexa's staying at Alfea _and_ I have to meet with her once a week. Someone up there must have a very twisted sense of humor._

Giggling to my left forced my eyes opened, and I turned my head just in time to see a pair of blond freshmen disappearing down the hall, their unmistakable voices carrying. Sighing, I turned back to the window, looking out just in time to see the Alfea gates opening, letting in one of the buses to Magix.

All of a sudden, the halls, the people, the very _air_ of Alfea felt thick and stifling. Without thinking twice, I turned on my heel and strode briskly towards the nearest exit, quickening my pace so I'd be sure to make it in time.

_I just need to get out of my own head for a little while._

* * *

><p>When the bus let off in downtown Magix, all it took was one inhale of the city air for me to know that I had made the right choice, as spontaneous as it had been. The smells of car exhaust and different foods, the sounds of people talking and laughing and horns honking, the laid-back quality of people just going about their daily life… <em>this<em> was calming. For maybe the first time since I had walked into my dorm room last spring and found Taylor there waiting for me, I felt at peace.

My stomach growled audibly, bringing me back to reality as I remembered how long it had been since breakfast; I'd skipped lunch to meet with Ms F. An angry little bee buzzed in my head at the memory of that meeting, but I waved it away. This afternoon was about me.

Feeling in my pocket for money, and letting out an actual cry of excitement when I found some (I had, after all, rushed out of Alfea without stopping to grab money or a phone or _anything_, really), I made a beeline towards my favorite little café. Only thinking about how much I was craving their ham-and-cheese croissant sandwich, I didn't bother paying attention to my surroundings, and crashed into another girl.

"Hey!" she snapped, as we collided and both ended up on the ground. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," I said quietly, more than a little bit intimidated by her. As I picked myself up off the ground, I gave her a quick once over. She was tall and slim, with long reddish-gold hair that was streaked with dark blue to match the scoop-neck tank she wore under a beat-up leather jacket with skintight dark jeans and combat boots. _Strange…_ it was extremely hot in Magix, being the end of the summer and all. Her eyes were ice blue and piercing behind her liberal application of navy blue eyeliner (so definitely a witch – only they ever wore that much eye makeup), and she looked to be about a few years older than me, maybe nineteen or twenty. Not my style at all, but she was undeniably pretty, in an angular, almost feral sort of way.

"You should be," she said, glaring at me with those icy blue eyes. There was something behind that look, a deep-rooted anger directed towards me for more than just knocking her over. _But how is that possible? I've never met her before._

Or had I? There was something vaguely familiar about her… and at the same time, threatening. _Okay, _I decided, _she definitely scares me._

"Be more careful next time," she added, before turning around and walking off. For a moment, it felt like she was still there, staring me down with those menacing eyes. I shuddered, shaking it off, then continued on to the café, being infinitely more careful to watch where I was going.

All through the afternoon, the memory of her stayed with me, reappearing at the front of my mind every so often just to make me shiver. She was intimidating, that was for sure, but I forced myself not to dwell on it. Whoever she was, she was just some random girl I met once in Magix.

_It's not like I'll ever see her again, after all._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Thoughts?<strong>

**So I've introduced a little more plot, and there was that huge flashback scene that I personally am quite proud of. How'd I do on the magic explanation stuff? I worked a _long_ time on that, trying to figure out the mechanics of dark vs. light magic. (BTW, sorry for that awkward phrasing - there really is no better antonym for "dark" used in that context.) In case anyone's hopelessly lost, basically the idea is that since Bloom and Baltor both draw power from the Dragon Fire, Alyssa has half light Dragon Fire, half dark. Because it's the same power, they're able to coexist in her, and since she's a girl, she can be a fairy, so she takes after Bloom more. But the dark magic is still there, which is why she was unharmed when they found a ton of it in her bloodstream - besides it being her own magic, of course. (The idea of dark magic being harmful to a fairy comes from one of waterbendergirl's stories; I don't remember which one.) The part that's harmful to her is when she uses it - because practicing, or using dark magic is more complicated than light, and she's not used to using it.**

**Did you get that now? PM me if you're still confused and hopefully I can straighten things out.**

**And Alexa's back! Of course she is - did you really think I was going to get rid of her? (Especially since I still need a fairy outfit for her... ;-) We will definitely see more of this mentor twist later, and find out why Faragonda says she's "uniquely qualified more than anyone else in Magix".**

**Finally, who else is getting major creepy vibes off that girl in Magix? Can't say too much, but keep an eye on her... (I'm going to shut up now before my big mouth gives anything away.)**

**No promises on the next chapter, but it'll most likely be some time before the end of October. Next chapter is BIG, so look forward to it!**

**xoxo,**

**- Authoress**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_While there is no 'love potion' as thought of in mortal movies, there are several different brews that will achieve the temporary illusion of love…_

_ Veritaserum is the most highly regarded truth potion, but it is not the only one out there. Some other well-known potions include…_

_The difference between a draught and an elixir is…_

_ Zzzzzzzzzz…_

This had to be the most boring textbook in the history of the world. My brain felt like it had gone to sleep.

It was a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon; I could practically feel the warmth of the sun on my skin through the window glass. The _last_ way I wanted to spend a day like this was studying, no matter how much homework we had this year (a truly ridiculous amount, let me go on the record as saying).

The idea came to me literally in a second.

"I'm going to Red Fountain," I declared, setting down my Advanced Potions textbook on the coffee table in our dorm's common room.

"I'm coming with you," Lola said quickly, dropping her Charms textbook and reaching for her purse.

"Me too," Mel added, pulling out her earbuds. "In fact, let's all go. I've been wanting to go over there anyways." Ivy, Aqua, and Dee all murmured signs of agreement, dropping their notes and laptops and gathering their stuff. Meanwhile, I just stared in confusion.

"Um, you guys don't have to come with me. I just really want to see Ryan."

"We won't get in your way if you two want to be all lovey-dovey," Aqua insisted. "But you can't tell us _not_ to come if we want to." Lola and Mel nodded.

I sighed, resigning myself to the fact that they were going to come with me whether I wanted them to or not. It had been like this ever since I got back from my spontaneous visit to Magix last week, when I came back to find Lola practically in tears in the common room because she couldn't find me. Apparently, that night a decision had been made among the rest of my friends to not let me go anywhere alone. Ever since, I'd had a hard time begging off to use the bathroom without one of them sticking to me like barnacles.

But whatever. So I'd be dragging along a bunch of extra appendages (you might say it's rude to think of my friends like that; _I_ say it's rude for them to act like I'm some kind of invalid). I'd put up with it – for now – if it meant I could go see Ryan. There'd been some kind of problem at RF in the first few weeks of the year that postponed the Welcome Back dance, so I hadn't seen him since the brief little time we spent together over the summer, which already felt like _ages_ ago. And especially after seeing Alexa last weekend, I had an intense urge to remind myself that Ryan still wanted _me_, not her.

A tiny smile spread across my face and tingles shot down my spine as I thought about him. He was just so… perfect. How in the realms did I get so lucky?

"Ooh, someone's thinking about Lover Boy," Aqua teased, noticing my blissed-out face. She playfully elbowed me in the shoulder. "Come on, let's go. You want to see him, don't you?"

* * *

><p>The second I laid eyes on Ryan, all my displeasure melted away like ice under the Solarian summer sun. The scene that followed was straight from one of those cheesy chick flicks Lola loved (and Mel loved to make fun of) – his eyes lit up, and he instantly abandoned his conversation with another guy to race to my side, scooping me up into his arms and crushing his lips to mine for so long I thought I might asphyxiate. But I'd have died happy. <em>This<em> was perfect.

"I missed you," he said softly, leaning his forehead against mine as we finally came up for air. In the background, I heard clapping and whistling and a couple overeager guys shouting, "Don't stop on our account!"

"I missed you too," I murmured in a voice so low I wasn't sure he could hear me, closing my eyes and listening to the steady _thump-thump-thump_ of his heartbeat.

"Okay, I know I said we'd be cool with this, but seriously, you two? You have a freaking room. Use it." I rolled my eyes at Aqua, while Ryan just laughed it off, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side.

"Don't get me wrong, 'Liss, I love your friends – but did you have to bring them today?" he whispered through his teeth.

"Wasn't my choice," I replied. "If you can distract them for a bit, I'll fill you in."

"Can do," he shot back, before turning to the others and continuing in a louder voice, "Ladies? As nice as the dorms are, girls technically aren't allowed in here–"

"Like no one ever breaks _that_ rule," Mel muttered under her breath, and Aqua laughed.

Ryan kept going, unfazed. "How about I show you girls up to the training deck? There's always guys up there, and we're all dying for some female company around here."

_Perfect_, I thought, making a mental note to thoroughly thank Ryan for this later (not _that_ way, idiots! Get your minds out of the gutter!). With any luck, the matchmaker in Lola wouldn't be able to resist pairing the others off with whatever guys happened to be up there, and then Ryan and I could have some peace and quiet to talk (or not talk…).

Sure enough, as soon as we got to the roof, Lola made a beeline for a brown-haired guy shooting arrows. "Jake!" she exclaimed, practically throwing herself into his arms. He looked surprised at first, but then his face lit up.

"Lola! Well isn't this a pleasant surprise? What are you doing here, babe?"

"Surprise visit," she cooed, preening in her tiny skirt and sandals. "I take it you're happy to see me?"

"Very." His archery practice completely abandoned, the two of them proceeded to almost suction their mouths together in their enthusiasm. I winced watching them before I had to turn away, wondering briefly if that was what Ryan and I looked like to the others. _If so, I can see why Aqua always makes those lewd comments…_

Ryan chuckled. "Why am I not surprised that Lola's the girl Jake's been talking about." He slid his arm around my again and squeezed my forearm, and my insides went all warm and gooey at his touch.

"Ryan! Hey man, is this the infamous Alyssa?" A tall, well-muscled guy with short cropped dirty-blond hair came up to Ryan and held his hand out for one of those ridiculous fist-pounding handshake-like things. "I was starting to think you didn't exist! Now I can see why he's been keeping you all to yourself." He winked, but it didn't feel lecherous, just silly. I decided I liked this guy, whoever he was.

"Scott, you're an idiot," Ryan said, punching him good-naturedly in the shoulder.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alyssa. I'm Scott, your doofus boyfriend's roommate." As I let go of his hand, he cupped it to the side of his mouth as if faking like he had a secret to tell. "When you get bored with him, give me a call."

I laughed. "Never gonna happen. He's it for me."

Scott fake-pouted, but rebounded quickly. "Aw, how cute are you two? This one never stops talking about you. It's almost unbearable." Ryan rolled his eyes and shoved him again.

"He's so funny," I remarked, as Scott turned around and started towards the elevators leading back to the dorms. Halfway there, he stopped and struck up a conversation with Ivy, who looked to be halfway to Cloud Nine that he was talking to her. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning; shy, unpretentious Ivy definitely deserved some male attention. "How come you've never mentioned him before?"

"He's just been my roommate since the new school year started. Before that, my roommate was this total prick who didn't deserve the pleasure of your acquaintance." He dropped a tiny kiss on my forehead, and warmth spread throughout my entire body.

"You've been talking about me _that_ much already?" I teased, pressing my body against his and reaching up for another kiss that made my bones turn to jelly.

"So now do you want to explain what's up with the security detail?" he asked, steering me over to a bench set off to the side of the main training deck.

Sighing, I filled him in on the events of the last few weeks – my odd feelings over being back at Alfea, the panic attack, the wall that had somehow developed between the others and me, even meeting that girl Emma in the library. The only thing I left out was the talk with Ms Faragonda about my powers. It wasn't strictly relevant to this particular conversation, and the last thing I wanted to talk about with Ryan right now was Alexa.

He whistled when I finished. "Wow. Sounds like you've been through a lot, and the year's only a couple weeks old. And you never thought to clue me in on any of this until now?" Though his tone wasn't accusatory, I heard the unspoken allegation clear as day.

I looked away, tugging nervously at my bracelet. "I didn't want to bother you with my stupid problems," I started, knowing that it was in no way an excuse. "It feels like that's all I ever do to you. And Taylor's your sister, you know, and I wasn't sure if it'd get awkward, even though I know you're not on her side, and–"

He pressed a finger to my lips, cutting me off mid-babble. "Alyssa. I care about you more than anyone else in the universe. It never bothers me to listen to you tell me what's wrong in your life. The next time anything like that happens, I want you to tell me about it right away." The finger that had been pressed against my lips was now interlocked with my own. "I love you, remember?" He smiled.

"I love you too," I whispered, closing my eyes as a tiny tear trickled down my cheek. Once again, I wondered what I had ever done to deserve him.

"Is that who I think it is?" Lola's distinct, shrieking cry brought me back to reality, and I looked up to see her nearly tripping over herself, trying to get to the other end of the deck. Nothing was there except for a few guys who appeared to be taming dragons, while Mel and Aqua perched on a nearby bench, occasionally shouting comments.

"What's that about?" I wondered out loud, getting up and taking a few steps towards the dragon tamers.

"Derek? Is that you?" We arrived at the other end of the deck just in time to see Lola fling herself at yet another guy, this one taller and slightly older looking, with messy blond hair that matched her own.

The guy looked taken aback at first, then smiled a very familiar mischievous, knowing smile. "Hey li'l sis. What are you doing here?"

"I think the better question is what are _you_ doing here? I thought you were supposed to be backpacking around the realms?" She was defensive Lola now, arms crossed over her chest, hips angled, eyes narrowed and piercing. It was a look that usually never failed to intimidate underclassmen back at Alfea, but the guy – apparently her brother, although I'd never known her to mention any siblings – just laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Eh, that got boring fast. Codatorta offered me a job as a teacher's assistant, and I figured, why the hell not take it? Things are easy at Red Fountain. Not like the rest of the world." He scowled.

"I assume Mom and Dad don't know you're here?" she asked pointedly, not letting up on her defensive stare even though it didn't seem to be working on him.

"Now why would you think that?" he shot back sarcastically. "Of course they don't. And they're not going to find out, isn't that right Lola?" Now it was his turn to give her a pointed, defensive look.

I could feel the tension in the air, thick enough to be cut with a knife. Apparently, so could Aqua, because she bounded easily down the bleachers and over to Lola's side. "I didn't know you had a brother, Lo," she remarked, linking her arm amiably through Lola's. "Mind introducing us?"

Lola flushed pale pink. "Girls, this is my older brother Derek. Derek, this is Aqua, Dee, Ivy, Mel, and Alyssa."

"A pleasure to meet you all," he said charmingly, taking Mel's hand and kissing it. The resulting bright red blush that crept up her face made her look like a tomato with black hair, while Derek just grinned cockily, seeming to revel in the fact that he had affected her so much. Yes, he definitely seemed like a male version of Lola. (I wasn't quite sure that was a good thing.) I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

The temperature seemed to suddenly drop ten degrees. I shivered in my skimpy summer-wear, wondering why it was so cold all of a sudden. "Do you feel that?" I turned to Ryan, who was also rubbing his exposed arms. "Is it something with Red Fountain?"

"I can't imagine why," he replied. "This place is so high-tech, the training deck is encased in its own biosphere so we can train every single day, no matter the weather." He stared up at the sky, as if searching for answers.

"Then something is definitely wrong here," I said.

"You can say that again." At the sound of that voice, I whirled around in shock, hoping beyond hope that my ears were deceiving me.

No such luck.

"What are _you_ doing here?" All I could do was stare at the girl from Magix, the one I'd thought I'd never see again. This time, she wore a short tight dark blue ruched halter-style mini-dress and dark blue lace-up combat-style ankle boots with high spiky heels and silver laces. A thick silver choker necklace with a big silver flower adorned her neck, with a matching thick silver wrist cuff on her right arm. Her blue eyes were no less icy behind smoky blue-gray eye shadow and thick navy blue liquid liner that winged out dramatically at the corner of her eye. She was altogether glamorous, sexy, edgy, and utterly terrifying – even more so for the swirling snowflakes and icy wind coming from her clenched fists.

"Aren't I allowed to come pay a visit to an old friend?" She took slow, calculated steps towards me, the ground beneath her feet frosting over under her heel.

Instinctively, I felt my palms pulse with Dragon Fire energy, as I started walking backwards, away from her. "You're not my 'old friend'. I don't know you! I only even met you once, and it was so brief I barely remember it."

Her lips curled up into a devious smirk. "Now, now, Alyssa, didn't your mother ever teach you it's impolite to lie?" The swirling magic at her fingertips shot out towards me, and I narrowly managed to escape being turned into a Popsicle. "Mine did."

"H-how do you know my name?" I stuttered.

"You may not know who I am, Alyssa, but I know _all_ about you." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No one talks to my girl like that!" Lola exclaimed. I was incredibly grateful for her presence at that moment, when my tongue felt like it had been glued to the roof of my mouth. "Come on girls, let's teach this _witch_ some manners!"

There was an enormous surge of magical energy behind me, and the other girls took to the sky, wings fluttering. A smile spreading across my face, I summoned my magic and joined them. On the ground, Ryan and the other guys pulled out swords and other weapons.

"How cute," drawled another voice, low and seductive-sounding despite the situation. This girl was tall and curvaceous, with super-long dark brown hair and mesmerizing violet eyes accented with purple-gray smoky shadow and the same thick line of liquid eyeliner in dark purple. She wore a strapless skintight dark purple mini-dress that had a black lace overlay covering part of her chest and collarbone in a wide triangle, with black platform stiletto heels that crisscrossed her calves and laced up to her knees in ribbons, and a purple choker. While the girl from Magix was winter-chic, she was like shadow and seduction personified. It was no less intimidating. "Haylee, look, they really think they're a match for us. I almost don't want to burst their bubble, because it's just so adorable."

Ice Queen – so apparently her name was Haylee; it suited her, I thought – laughed. "Like a bunch of sparkly kittens. Spot-on as always, Sonya."

"Who are you?" I managed to get out, directing my question to Haylee.

"We are senior witches at Cloud Tower," a third voice answered, as its owner materialized on the other side of Haylee, completing the trio. This one had long white-blond hair done in ringlet curls tied up in a high ponytail on the top of her head, a porcelain-pale complexion, and stormy gray eyes. She wore a deep gray high-necked sleeveless coat-dress, with a tight bodice that had a large diamond-shaped cutout and a skirt that was split down the center and flared out widely, revealing a peak of what looked like skimpy black high-cut shorts. Black pointy-toe high-heeled ankle boots finished it off, and she had the same smoky eye makeup and thick eyeliner (in metallic silver) as the other two. "Which means no one messes with us."

"Oh yeah?" Lola retorted angrily. "Well we're third-years at Alfea, and no one messes with _us_ either!"

Sonya smirked. "Really? Izzy, why don't you show this little pixie just how out of her league she is?"

"My pleasure." Izzy – the girl in gray – stepped forward and thrust out both her arms, fingers locked together and eyes squeezed shut in concentration. A mini tornado appeared from her fingertips, locking in on Lola, who gave a yelp and started flying in the opposite direction.

"I got this!" Mel insisted, flying in front of the cyclone and bracing herself against the wind that threatened to unbalance her on her oversized silvery-white dragonfly-style wings trimmed in red. She wore a short navy blue tutu-like miniskirt, a navy blue strapless crop top with an oversized hot pink treble clef appliqué, fingerless hot pink fishnet gloves, and hot pink mid-calf-length high-heeled boots, her hair up in its' usual high pigtails with a hot pink headband. A glowing ball of pale blue magic energy appeared between her hands, growing in size to resemble something like a disco ball. With a victorious cry, she launched it at the twister, which promptly dissolved as the magic-disco-ball hit it. Unfortunately, as it did, an enormous torrent of wind flew back at Mel, knocking her all the way to the far side of the arena, where it looked like she hit her head on something and slumped down behind a bleacher, unconscious.

"Mel!" Lola exclaimed, gasping. "You're going to pay for that!" As if spurned on by his sister's words, I saw Derek run towards Mel out of the corner of my eye. Meanwhile, Lola started to glow faintly yellow-orange. Her fairy outfit consisted of a tight orange and pink sleeveless crop top with thick straps, dark orange short-shorts, dark orange platform sandals with straps that tied up her legs, and pale pink wristbands with blue glitter. Her blond hair was tied back in two pigtails with dark orange and blue ribbon, and her wings were large and pixie-ish, silvery-blue with deep blue trim and blue ribbon tied to the tips. As I watched, the yellow glow turned into a sunburst ball that she held high over her head, which grew even more in strength until it seemed bright enough to rival the sun itself.

The resulting blow knocked Sonya and Izzy backwards off the roof (where they were undoubtedly fine – witches could fly, after all), but Haylee remained standing, her feet glued to the ground in what looked like blocks of ice. The ice melted as Lola collapsed to the ground, leaving behind shiny puddles.

My fists glowed with fire. "If it's a fight you want, Haylee–" the name felt foreign and awkward on my tongue "–then leave my friends out of it. I'm the one you want, right?"

She gave a strange sort of half-smile. "Smart girl, Alyssa. You are the one I want, but not now. Not like this. When you and I face off, it will be for real."

"Then why come here today? Why do all this?"

"I guess you could call it a warning." She took a step backwards. "I wanted you to know that I exist. That I've been waiting for this for a long time. And that at another time and in another place, I will crush you like the insignificant speck of dust you are." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, alight with a look of unfulfilled vengeance almost inhuman in its intensity. "So watch your back, _Princess_." Then without another sound, she just disappeared into thin air.

I stared at the place where she had been, at the puddles of melted ice – the only things left to prove that this hadn't been just some crazy figment of my imagination – as if willing her to reappear so I could interrogate her some more. My mind was racing with questions, but one thing stood out above all the rest – _how_ were we connected, and in such a way that she evidently wanted to kill me when I'd never even met her until a week ago?

"Um, 'Liss?" I heard Ryan say behind me in a tentative voice. "What just happened?"

I exhaled deeply. "That's exactly what I'd like to know."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: It was an unusual set of circumstances that led to such a short time between updates; sorry, folks, this is definitely not going to become the norm. But I had an unexpected block of free time this past week, and I was really really excited to get to the good stuff after writing the last chapter, and this one sort of just flew out.<strong>

**So on that note, what did you all think of this chapter? I must say, it's a relief to not have to refer to Haylee as Creepy Girl anymore (even though I only did it for one chapter, lol). *IMPORTANT*: I will not be answering any questions about her. None whatsoever. Sorry. You'll just have to wait and see for yourselves. ;-) I know, I'm evil. But I promise that you'll get more background about her sooner than you might think... ****One thing I will confirm is that yes, this is the "alpha" plotline for the story. But that doesn't mean the stuff with Alexa and Alyssa's trust issues post-Taylor are any less important. Everything connects to each other in this crazy twisted plotline.**

**And yes - I've finally started rolling out those gorgeous outfits you all have been sending me! :D In order of appearance - Haylee's was drawn by the ever-fabulous E, Izzy and Sonya's actually came from deviantart (I found those on my own - because I couldn't very well ask for them without tipping y'all off, right?), Mel's was by loveableheart (the basic design - I did alter a bit so the colors fit with the other girls), and Lola's is from MewMusica. Thank you all so much! On a side note, I hope the fashion wasn't a big distraction from what's actually going on in the action. If it was, I apologize - I really tried to trim it down to the bare necessities, but I am a girl who likes to set the scene, and that includes a lot of fashion.**

**Finally, one more point to address before I go - Derek. Yes, Lola has a brother. He's two years older than her and graduated from RF a year ago. As you can probably tell, he's not exactly Stella's 'darling little boy'. Derek's kind of a rebel and because he pissed off his parents around graduation, he's not in line for the throne anymore (so Lola's still princess-going-to-be-queen of Soloria). He's not just a throwaway character, though (oh come on, like I'd really toss in a throwaway character at this point in the game, especially one related to one of my main characters?) - we'll definitely be hearing from him again. :-)**

**Okay, it's getting late and I need to hit the hay. Please don't be shy - drop me a line or two and tell me what you thought of this chapter.**

**Catch you on the flip side!**

**- Authoress**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Who does that crazy girl think she is? We should go to Ms Faragonda about this right away – get her locked up or something. I'm serious! She is _dangerous_. If this was just a 'warning,' I'm scared to think about what she'll do when it's for real."

"Mel, calm down." I placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her in one place, instead of pacing back and forth wildly around the common room. You'd never know that she'd gotten hit in the head during the battle, from the way she was acting now.

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when there's a lunatic out there who basically wants to kill you? You know, I _really_ thought you were done getting death threats when they locked Taylor up."

I sighed heavily. "So did I, Mel. So did I."

If one good thing had come out of this whole mess, it was that the girls were no longer treating me like an invalid. Although, considering that I now had yet another crazy stalker to worry about, I wasn't sure how much of a high point that was. "Why is it always me?" I mused, burying my face in my hands. "I'm like a magnet for danger or something. Maybe Mom was right – maybe I should just leave Alfea. At least then I'll be keeping the rest of you out of harm's way."

"Don't you dare even think about it!" Lola exclaimed, shooting out of her seat like a jack-in-the-box. "You belong here, 'Liss. Don't let that _witch_–" from the intonation in her voice, it was clear she had another, more colorful word in mind for Haylee, but thankfully she kept it to herself– "mess with your head like that."

"Besides, who's to say leaving would mean you'd be safe? Most likely, she'd just find you again somehow," Ivy added.

"Your odds of overcoming her would decrease significantly if you were on your own," Dee chimed in, in her usual logical fashion.

"Exactly," Aqua said, in a tone that seemed to put an end to this line of discussion. "You're not going anywhere, 'Liss."

Their fierce determination warmed my heart. Never again would I wonder if these girls were really my friends.

"And on that happy note, let's talk about something else," Ivy suggested. "So before the witches showed up, did you guys have a good time at Red Fountain?"

I felt bad for throwing poor Ivy into the spotlight, but she'd just given me a lifeline out of this horrible conversation, and I was sure as hell going to cling onto it for dear life. "You were having a pretty good time, weren't you, Ives?" I grinned at her. "Lucky you – Scott's a cool guy."

Just as I'd anticipated, Aqua pounced. "Ivy! Have you been holding out on us? Who's this Scott guy?"

A pale pink blush crept up into her cheeks. "H-he's Ryan's new roommate, and he's… a nice guy. He led a camping trip through the mountains on Limphea near my house this summer; we were talking about that."

"Oh, I'm sure that's _all_ you were talking about. Did you get his number?" Nothing rejuvenated Mel more than a good gossip session – strangely enough, considering her tomboyish nature and utter disdain for most things girly.

If possible, Ivy's cheeks grew pinker. "Yes," she said in a tiny voice, her face all screwed up in embarrassment.

"You go girl! So this day wasn't a total wash after all." Lola's phone buzzed from her pocket, and as she checked it she groaned. "Ugh, excuse me. The 'rents call." She got up and went into her old room.

Mel watched as the door closed behind her, then leaned in conspiratorily. "Can we discuss how absolutely _gorgeous_ Lola's older brother is? I cannot believe she's been holding out on us for so long."

I tensed, remembering how deeply she'd blushed when he kissed her hand, and that he'd been the one to pull her out of the bleachers when Izzy's attack backfired. "Does someone have a little crush?" I asked jokily, praying beyond all hope that she'd answer in the same flippant fashion.

But she didn't; instead, her smile grew mischievous. "Shh," she said, holding a finger against her lips. "Don't tell Lola." Aqua laughed and slapped her five, but Ivy and Dee also looked uneasy.

Besides the obvious – that Lola would _freak__out_ if she found out – there was also the fact that Derek seemed like an enormous flirt, the type of guy who liked to string along a couple girls at the same time. I had no doubt that he was at least somewhat interested in Mel, but would he end up breaking her heart? Most likely.

"I'm… gonna go talk to Ms Faragonda," I said quickly, getting up and heading for the door. I wanted _out_ of this conversation before I said anything I would regret later. Persuading Mel to see reason would require some careful planning of word choice beforehand – ie, not something blurted out right now. "Maybe she'll know something about Haylee and her friends."

"That's a smart idea," Aqua nodded. "Hope she does know something."

I stared out the window, lost in thought. "Believe me when I say that no one wants answers more than I do."

* * *

><p>Ms Faragonda peered down at me over the tops of her glasses. "Tell me again what happened?"<p>

"We were hanging out at Red Fountain, not doing anything really, when these three witches show up out of the blue. I don't remember all their names, but the ringleader of sorts was definitely named Haylee. She seemed a little older too – the other two looked about our age. Anyway, she didn't say much, but they attacked us, and at the end Haylee mentioned something about it being personal – that there was some bad history between us. She basically said she wanted to kill me. But how can that be possible? I'd never met her until I literally bumped into her about a week ago in Magix."

"Describe her to me."

"Tall and thin, reddish-gold hair with dark blue streaks, pale blue eyes, ice-based powers." Her lips pursed, and a nervous feeling bubbled in the pit of my stomach. "Do you know anything about her? Anything at all?"

She hesitated a moment before answering. "I have some ideas, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions."

I sighed. "So basically, that's a 'No, Alyssa, I don't know who your crazy stalker is'."

She laughed briefly. "I am sorry, my dear. I'll look into some things and get back to you later. Believe me when I tell you that you do not want my suspicions to be correct."

"If you say so." I got up and headed for the door.

"Alyssa!" she called. I paused in the doorway and turned around. "If you hear any more from this Haylee character, please tell me right away."

"Of course."

I ended up wandering around the halls for a while, not wanting to go back to my room. Eventually, my feet took me to the library.

"Hey." Emma looked up from her book and smiled. "I was actually hoping to run into you again. You sort of ran away when we met."

"Y-yeah, sorry about that," I said uneasily, leaning against a bookshelf. You'd think having Haylee to worry about would've made me less suspicious of every random blond girl that wanted to be my friend, but nope – I was still as paranoid as ever.

But as she stared at me with that wide-eyed, innocent face, I felt horrible. It wasn't her fault, and she did seem like a real sweet girl. "I'm really sorry," I started. "I just… it's a long story, but last year I was betrayed by a girl I thought was my friend, and almost died. So I'm sort of having a rough time trusting new people."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," she said, closing her book and setting it on a nearby table. "I totally understand. If you wanted some alone time, I can leave…"

"No, don't." She looked surprised. "I have to get over this sooner or later. It's not like I can live my whole life never meeting new people because I'm afraid they're going to stab me in the back. And you seem really nice. I'd like to get to know you, if you still want to get to know me."

When she smiled, it made me happy, which was the best sign I could think of that I had just made a crucial step towards recovering from the Miriam incident. "Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" she said, sitting back down in her seat as I took the one across from it. She held out her hand for me to shake. "Hi. My name is Emma of Delora."

"Princess Alyssa of Sparx." I shook her hand, smiling. "It's very nice to meet you."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So, sorry for such a mediocre chapter. I know compared to the excitement of the last few, this installment is a bit pathetic, but it's important in its own way. We need a breather, after all, after the craziness of last chapter, and before the whirlwind of action that is the rest of the story continues. (FYI, this is the last filler-y type chapter in my plan, so woo-hoo for that!) And there are important bits in here, like Mel's crush on Derek and the budding friendship between Alyssa and Emma.<strong>

**With that all off my chest, what did you guys think? Is Alyssa right that Derek + Mel = disaster? Do y'all like Emma, or wish that I would stop taking up valuable page space with her? ;-) She does have another purpose, keep in mind, that will be revealed later.**

**Finally, one more request - please, please, please, please, PLEASE do not ask me about Haylee. I'm not going to answer anyways, so it's pointless, and I absolutely hate it when people start guessing in reviews and spoil it for others. :P I promise, there will be answers in the next chapter. You just have to hold out a little longer.**

**And one more little announcement - I've started on my prequel story, which has been renamed A Moment Like This (yes, after the Kelly Clarkson song). It should be up sometime within the next couple weeks, so look for that!**

**Ch. 6 is definitely going to take me a bit, since we have two major plot points for two different sections of the overarching storyline. And school is being rather difficult right now, so I'm not making any promises. But it shouldn't be more than, like, a month. Hehe, sorry I can't be more specific.**

**Oh, and happy (early) Halloween!**

**- Authoress**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Gale-force winds whipped the air into a frenzy, blowing my hair into my face and making it almost impossible to see. My wings struggled to keep me aloft against the blustery wind, but it was a losing battle. Gritting my teeth, I tried to summon a shield, but it was no use against this crazy wind, which was starting to form something that looked dangerously like a hurricane. It's undoubted target? My lovely, defenseless self.

Was this Izzy's handiwork? Another tangle with those mysterious witches from Red Fountain? Ha. If only. No, the truth was much less satisfying.

"Fight, lazy ass! That's what you're supposed to do – you're supposed to _fight_ me! Don't just hover there like a little idiot – use your goddamn powers! Do I have to knock you out of the sky _again_? This whole 'you doing nothing' thing got old a _long_ time ago. Fight!"

My anger flared – just as it had the last seven times I'd heard some variation on this rousing motivational speech – and the Dragon Fire rose to the occasion, creating a power blast that actually managed to overpower the hurricane right before it would've sucked me into its dangerous spin. The world temporarily dissolved into fire, and I closed my eyes until the brightness behind my eyelids subsided. When I opened them again, Alexa was descending gracefully to the ground, looking completely unaffected by my fire attack. I balled my hands into fists, nails cutting into my palms, and landed with a sigh.

While I'd yet to figure out why Ms Faragonda had picked her specifically to teach me to control my dark magic, even I had to admit Alexa was powerful. But this was my third time meeting with her, and so far, my dark magic had yet to make itself known. So all that happened in these sessions was her slamming me with some crazy-strong wind attack, me fighting it and losing, her yelling at me until I got angry and exploded, and then…

"You're still not getting it," she snapped at me. "I haven't felt an ounce of dark power in any of those attacks. It shouldn't be this easy for me. It's like you're not even trying. I don't know what I have to do to get you mad enough to bring it out, but until that happens, these sessions are just an enormous waste of time. And I know you don't want to be here any more than I do. So why in the realms aren't you trying harder?"

…the lecture. About how I was wasting both our times by not trying hard enough, and how she was doing everything she could to help me (yeah right) but this was a two-way street, and I had to do my part, and blah blah blah blah _blah_. I bit my tongue as she continued to run her mouth, saying nothing I hadn't already heard before, and instead stared at her ridiculously perfect body, which was on far too much display in her fairy outfit.

She wore a bright red one-shoulder top that came down to just below her bust with a matching low-slung bright red micro-miniskirt, revealing acres of flat, bare midriff. Knee-high bright red platform boots made her legs look ten miles long, and her dark hair was tied back in a long high ponytail down her back. Her oversized butterfly-style wings were silvery-blue, trimmed in dark blue to match her choker around her neck.

I didn't doubt Ryan's feelings for me, but that didn't mean Alexa wasn't still dangerous. And it really didn't help to have her basically parading around in a sparkly swimsuit, yelling at me for not doing something I hadn't the faintest clue how to go about doing – without offering anything remotely resembling help (unless you counted those _de_motivational speeches).

"Alyssa!" she all but screeched.

"Wh-what?" I blinked, startled back into reality.

Alexa sighed like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. "You haven't been listening to a single thing I've been saying, have you?" When I didn't answer, she tipped her head backwards and sighed again. "I can only help you if you'll show me what it is I'm working with. The more you delay bringing out your dark magic, the more pointless these sessions are."

"Well have you ever considered trying to help me summon it on command, rather than just yelling at me and hoping the anger will bring it out? Because in case you haven't noticed, that hasn't exactly been working so well." I was stunned at my own reaction; I never fought back when she got off on one of these tangents.

Apparently, it surprised her just as much. But she rebounded quickly. "My job is to teach you how to control the dark magic. It's not my responsibility to tell you how to summon it in the first place. I don't practice dark magic, after all."

"So then why is it Ms Faragonda chose you, of all people, to mentor me?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously, and for a moment I thought she might lash out again with her powers. But then she inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and de-transformed. "Class dismissed," she announced, opening her eyes slowly. "Try to practice on your own before next week so this isn't completely wasting my time." She walked out, the sound of her heels clicking on the floor.

I de-transformed but stayed put in the practice arena, sinking down into one of the bleacher benches. It had been almost three weeks since that encounter with Haylee and her friends, and although I'd hoped (yearned!) to hear from the mysterious ice witch again, she seemed to have dropped off the face of Magix. Meanwhile, life at Alfea had continued on, developing a rhythm not unlike the other years – classes, homework, girl time, Ryan… and these futile sessions with Alexa (gag me).

There was plenty to keep me busy, yes, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Haylee. More than anything, I wanted answers. But since she seemed determined not to be found, there was nothing I could do but obsess.

I stared out the window in idle boredom, not quite ready to go back to my room just yet. A flash of bright red caught my eye, and I saw Alexa outside in the quad, wearing a red ruffled halter top that exposed most of her back, cropped dark denim skinny jeans, sky-high metallic silver strappy sandals, and a tangle of long silver necklaces, including the rose one she seemed to wear everywhere now. Her dark hair practically gleamed, and she had on a little more makeup than usual. Before I could turn away, she threw herself into the arms of a tall guy with messy blond hair. Then they locked lips. And pretty much everything else.

I did a double take, squinting and rubbing my eyes frantically, hoping that what I'd just seen wasn't the truth. But there was no denying it. The beneficiary of Alexa's, ahem, enthusiasm?

None other than Derek.

* * *

><p><em>Well, <em>_at __least __she__'__s __not __going __after __Ryan __anymore,_ I thought to myself. _That__'__s __one __positive._

I sighed and buried my face in my hands. This universally sucked, and there was no way around it.

"Why the long face, 'Liss? Bad session with the Wicked Witch of Magix?" Mel giggled at the nickname Lola had coined for Alexa. "But let's face it – have you ever had a _good_ one?"

When I still didn't crack a smile, she sat down on the couch next to me. "Hey, Alyssa, what's wrong? Is it Haylee? Your parents?"

"No, it's nothing like that." I took a deep breath, wondering momentarily if I shouldn't wait to spill the beans, then decided to just do it quickly, like pulling off a Band-Aid. "After our meeting today, I, um… kind of saw Alexa with Derek."

Mel's face paled, but she seemed to be trying hard not to react. "What were they doing?"

A lump like a lead weight lodged itself in my throat. "They were kissing."

For a long, tense moment, Mel said nothing, her face set in a steely, silent mask. Then, abruptly, she got up and headed to her room.

"Are you okay?" I called after her fruitlessly. The only response I got was a slammed door.

I stared at the door, praying that she wasn't crying behind it but knowing my prayers were most likely going unanswered.

I repeat: this universally sucked, and there was no way around it.

* * *

><p>"So I don't know about the rest of you, but I could eat my handbag – and that's saying something, considering how much I paid for this thing. Who's in the mood for some pizza?"<p>

"Pizza sounds perfect, Lo," I smiled, enjoying the warm Magix sun on my face. "What do you think, Mel?" I nudged her with my elbow.

"Huh? What?" She looked up as if snapped out of a daydream, and I sighed. "Oh. Pizza. Sure. Sounds great."

"It sure doesn't sound like you think it's so great," Aqua said, wrapping an arm around Mel's tiny waist for a semi-awkward one-armed hug. "Come on, you've been depressed all week. What's going on?"

I bit my tongue as the fog in her eyes seemed to clear, and she shook her head vigorously. "It's nothing, I swear," she insisted. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starved." She reached for the handle on the door and pulled it open.

"You sure you're okay, Mel?" I asked, lingering behind as the others walked through the door, chattering excitedly about what movie we were going to see after lunch. "You know I'll listen if you want to cry or rant or whatever."

"Leave it alone, 'Liss," she said tersely. "There's nothing to talk about." With that, she crossed the threshold, the door flying back so fast it almost hit me in the face.

I tried not to offended as I caught it just in time. Mel had been acting weird all week, and it was horrible, being the only one who knew why. I wished that I could tell the others – Aqua, definitely, would know exactly what to do to make her feel better – but from the way she was acting I knew that the last thing Mel wanted was for anyone else to find out. So I'd just have to take it all on myself. Wonderful.

After a delicious lunch, the six of us started walking deeper into downtown Magix, towards the theater. Other than the dark cloud of Mel's bad mood hanging over me, it was shaping up to be a pretty perfect afternoon.

In hindsight, that should've been a warning.

"I'm telling you, we should see _Lost __in __Time_," Lola argued, walking backwards so she could face the rest of us and gesture dramatically to make her point. "It's got something for everyone – sci-fi geekiness for Dee, action for Aqua and Mel, romance for me…"

"No way, no how am I seeing one of your sappy romances, no matter if they bill it as 'action-adventure'. That's probably just code for two women getting in a catfight over some guy." Aqua was adamant.

"Come on, _Lost __in __Time_ is not like that! You've seen the trailers, right? 'Liss, Dee, back me up here."

"I am _not_ going to a romance movie. Period." The ice in Mel's voice could've rivaled the Omega Dimension. "Let's see a nice car crash movie. Where lots of stuff gets blown up and the pretty boy dies."

"Oh, ugh, so not fun," Lola complained.

"What else is playing?" Ivy asked, ever the peace-keeper. She pulled out a piece of paper from her bag.

"Here's an idea, little fairies. What about a brand new film that's just playing for today? It's called _Frozen __Defeat_. And you'll never guess who the main characters are."

Goosebumps erupted on my skin at the tone of that voice. I turned around slowly.

Haylee had a devilish smile on her face, and a whitish-blue ball of icy power balanced in one hand. "I'll give you a hint. They're standing right below me."

"What are you doing here, _witch_?" Lola spat. "Come on, girls, let's teach her what happens when you mess with the Winx Club!"

"Oh my, I'm _soooo_ scared," Sonya drawled, materializing at Haylee's side out of nowhere, like she'd been wrought from the shadows. Izzy completed the trio, appearing with a crack of lightning. "What are you going to do, sparkle us to death?"

"Let's see how you like this." Ivy inhaled deeply and blew a gust of sparkly pollen dust at the trio, which quickly grew into a thick ivy wrap. She wore a short strapless bright green mini-dress with the sides cut out and replaced by sheer-ish sparkly pale pink material that had intricate flower-style designs embroidered over it in a darker pink, with mid-calf-length pale pink high-heeled boots and wrist-less semi-sheer dark green elbow-length gloves that came to a point and curled over her fingers. Her wings were oversized and butterfly-style, pale pink with dark pink trim and more intricate flower-style designs on them.

Sonya and Izzy struggled for a moment, but Haylee never faltered. Pressing one palm against the vine, her hand glowed icy blue for a moment, and then the vine froze and crumpled into shards of ice.

"Nice try, little pixie," Izzy jeered. "But you're no match for us." She raised her hands over her head, and gray storm clouds seemed to gather from out of nowhere. Her eyes were squeezed shut in concentration, and I watched in horror as a bolt of lightning sparked and crackled at her fingertips, which she redirected towards Ivy.

"I've got this one!" Dee cried, jumping in front of Ivy. She held her forearm in front of her face, and a glowing green shield appeared, with numbers circling around it. Her fairy outfit was a tight deep purple sweetheart-necked strapless crop top with tiny diamond-shaped cutouts all along the bottom and more little diamond shapes in pale pink and pale green forming a band on her right shoulder like a strap, skintight low-slung deep purple pants that ended just below the knee with diamond cutouts all along the waistband, and high-heeled white go-go style ankle boots. Her pink hair was streaked with electric blue and pulled up into a super-high ponytail, with long choppy bangs falling in her eyes; and her wings were oversized dragonfly-style and pale green, with pale pink trim and the edges sort of fragmented with tiny square cutouts like computer pixels.

Her shield was effective, but not perfectly so – the force from the lightning eventually shattered the shield, knocking Dee backwards into Ivy and sending them both sprawling across the sidewalk. Izzy laughed nastily.

"Ooh, nice shot, Iz. My turn." Sonya closed her eyes and pressed one finger against her forehead; her body seemed to glow with dark energy, and then split into six duplicates, which circled around us, all grinning wickedly.

"How do we know which is the real one?" Lola asked, twisting her head frantically around from Sonya to Sonya. The duplicates laughed and started spinning in circles, making my head spin.

"It doesn't matter," Aqua yelled, floating on oversized pale silver butterfly-style wings with seaweed-green and aqua trim. "Just hit them all!" She wore pale aqua-green: a midriff-baring tank top, miniskirt, and knee-high boots with blue trim and blue heels. A silver chain belt around the waistband of the skirt had a cream-colored shell charm that hung on her left hip, with a matching shell on the blue choker around her neck. Her curly dark hair was tied back in a side ponytail held in place with a silver ribbon. A ball of her sticky pink Morphix grew in her hands, which recoiled and shot out at all the Sonyas.

The real Sonya, with duplicates vanished, squealed as she struggled in her Morphix bonds, trapped like a fly caught in a spiderweb on the corner of the sidewalk. Haylee rolled her eyes in her direction. "Amateurs," she snorted, zeroing back in on me. "I should've known better – if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

All the anger I'd been harboring towards her for weeks bubbled up under my skin, and I took to the air, hands balled into fists. "Why do you hate me so much?" I yelled, ducking and dodging her relentless ice attacks. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You were born," she snarled, aiming her next blast at my wings. I yelped as the ice made them incapable of keeping me aloft, sending me plummeting to the ground. A flower sprouted from the sidewalk just in time, catching me like a pillow, and I shot a grateful thumbs-up in Ivy's direction, who nodded before quickly jumping to escape Izzy's lightning.

"I don't get this, Haylee. I'd never even met you until a few weeks ago. _What_ is your problem with me? Didn't your mother ever teach you to play nice with others?"

The air around her grew bitter cold, as snowflakes started to fall for no other apparent reason than that she was extremely mad. Evidently, I'd just pushed her berserk button or something. "Do _not_ talk about my mother," she growled, her face so twisted with rage it was almost inhuman. "You do not get to belittle her with your ignorant words. You know nothing!"

So she got defensive if I mentioned her mother. Not a whole lot to go off of, but at least it was _something_ that I now knew about her; somewhere to start.

"What happened to your mother, then?" I asked, narrowly dodging a shower of ice daggers. "Is she dead or something? If so, that's horrible, but I don't see how any of that has to do with me."

Her eyes glowed icy blue, and I swallowed hard. "She suffers from a fate far worse than death. And it has _everything_ to do with you. You and your _whore _of a mother."

Fiery rage simmered inside of me. "_What_ did you just call my mother?"

"Oh, sorry, did I hurt your delicate little feelings, pixie _trash_? What's the matter; can't handle the truth? Because it is true, you know. That's what she is."

"What's going on with those two?" I heard Ivy ask from the ground.

"I don't know," Lola answered, sounding confused. "Why are they insulting each other's mothers?"

"Shh!" Aqua hissed. "I want to hear this. I think we're about to get the answers we've been looking for."

"You take that back, Haylee," I spat, throwing fireballs at her as fast as my arms were physically capable of. "My mother is the most loving, kind-hearted, courageous, and selfless person in the entire magic dimension."

Haylee avoided my attacks with ease, arching one eyebrow. "Can't be so kind-hearted and selfless if she _abandoned_ you for most of your life, can she?"

I felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach. "_How_ do you know about that?" I demanded, once I regained the ability to speak.

"When are you just going to accept that I know everything about you, Alyssa?" Her voice was scarily saccharine as she added, "Including a dirty little secret your father's kept for years."

I inhaled sharply. "How do you know my dad?"

"Well, I don't personally, but my mother did. She knew him very, _very_ well." The cruel smile on her face made my stomach turn.

"Who is your mother? What's her name?"

"My mother is Isabella Marina DiGiacomo." To my blank look, she added, "Of course, very few people know her real name. But years ago, she was better known as Icy of the Trix."

"Who?" I heard Lola ask from the ground.

"The Trix were three witches that wreaked quite a bit of havoc on the dimension in our mothers' time," Dee said, ever the informant.

Right – Palladium mentioned them in our very first History of Magix class freshmen year. They teamed up with Dad when he broke out of Omega. "If you're trying to shock me with the fact that my dad was a criminal, it's not going to work, " I insisted, my voice sounding more confident than I felt. "I know all about that."

She shook her head at my naïvete. "Poor, deluded Alyssa. I'm really quite surprised it wasn't more obvious. Then again, I'm not sure he even knew about me."

"Knew what? What are you getting at?" There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I had a feeling that no matter what she said next, this was not going to end well.

Her eyes were hard, even as her tone was light. "What's wrong? Haven't you figured it out yet? Don't you see the family resemblence?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Fairy outfit credits are as follows - Alexa's was actually my own design (I eventually realized the reason I didn't like any of the ones you guys sent me was because I had something of my own in mind), Ivy and Dee's were drawn by the amazing E, and Aqua's is from MewMusica.<strong>

**No promises on when the new chapter will be up - sorry! - but in the meantime, go read my prequel, called A Moment Like This, up now. It's a sort of backstory fic on exactly what happened between the original Winx characters that led up to the beginning of What Comes Next.**

**And, as always, reviews are my lifeblood.**

**Catch you later!**

**- Authoress**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"The… _what_?" It felt like someone had reached down my throat, yanked my heart out of my chest, and then for good measure grabbed my vocal cords as well. I was practically paralyzed in shock, which was a precarious position to be in mid-air.

Her eyes shifted into something cruel and calculated. As much as I hated to admit it, after being told to look I could see something of a resemblence between her and Dad; the hair, for one (although she had those ridiculous blue streaks), and something about the mischievous look in her eyes. "Sorry I've missed your birthday all these years, _sis_." She put an ironic sort of twist on the final word, punctuating it with a wry half grin.

My hands started glowing with fire of their own accord. "You are _not_ my sister," I spat, recovering my voice.

She arched an eyebrow. "Don't believe me, then? Go home and ask your precious Daddy himself. _Then_ come back here and act so superior."

"You're lying," I said, my voice belying a confidence I definitely did not feel. "You just want to rattle me. It's not true."

"Wanna bet? I wouldn't count on him knowing that I exist, but see if my mother's name rings any bells. Unless he's even more of a jerk than I thought, he _should_ remember hooking up with her all those years ago."

Anger burned through my veins at her words. "Stop saying that!"

"Aw, you just can't handle the truth, can you Alyssa?" She made a fake pouty face. "He's a bastard and your mom's a slut – they deserve each other. Of course, I'm not sure she'll still want him for too long when she finds out."

"There's nothing _to_ find out."

She laughed. "Oh, my darling little sister. I wish I could be there when you realize what I'm saying is the truth. I'm sure your face will be _priceless_."

An icy feeling spread from my chest throughout the rest of my body. No matter how much I wanted to believe she was lying, there was no denying the fact that as outrageous as it was… there was a very good chance that it really was true.

As if she could read my mind, she added, "Finally getting it through that thick skull of yours, eh? But by all means, please do go check with Daddy. I think it's long overdue that he found out about me." Her smile chilled me straight down to the bone. "Your perfect little world is about to shatter like the glass it's made of. And I, for one, can't wait to stand back and watch it fall."

Then, after mockingly blowing me a kiss, Haylee vanished into thin air.

The second she was gone, I plummeted out of the sky, my wings losing the strength to hold me any longer. Aqua threw up a Morphix net just in time, enveloping me in the sticky pink glue-like substance. Before I had even gotten back to my feet, she pounced on me. "She is such a _witch_. Don't tell me you believe her, 'Liss. It's all lies – it's gotta be."

"Yeah, there's no way she can be telling the truth. Whatever the reason is she hates you, she just wants to get under your skin," Mel added vehemently.

"Please tell me you don't believe her." Lola grabbed my arm. "There's no way that… _thing_ is your sister. It's just not possible."

"Let go of me, Lola," I said simply, wrenching my arm from her grip. Simultaneously, I de-transformed and automatically started running in the direction of the portal station. It was pure and simple instinct; I didn't stop to think or explain anything, I just let my feet take me where my heart knew I needed to go – home.

"Alyssa, come back!" I heard Ivy call. "We can figure this out together! You're not going to accomplish anything by running away!"

As I reached the corner, I paused briefly to turn back and look at my friends. "I'm sorry, you guys," I called over my shoulder. "But this is something I have to do alone."

* * *

><p>"Alyssa!" Mom exclaimed as I barrelled through the front doors like a girl on a mission. "What a… lovely surprise. But what in the realms are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?"<p>

"Where's Dad?" I demanded, not bothering with any niceties. My rage had intensified in the extremely short portal trip from Magix to Sparx, and it felt like neon coursing through my veins – like I was one of those electric eels that lights up the ocean after dark. And I felt just about as friendly as that, too.

"I'm right here, Alyssa," Dad said, coming up from behind Mom and sliding an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. "What's wrong?" Her head fit perfectly into the crook of his shoulder, and I fought back the wave of bile that rose in the back of my throat. Poor Mom. Poor me. Poor all of us. If only there was a way I could go back in time and just snap Haylee's neck before she could open up this whole can of worms.

But now that it was out there, there was no going back. I had to know.

"Did you ever sleep with someone named Icy?"

The moment the words left my mouth, I saw Mom's face turn white as a sheet. My heart wrenched, but I forced myself to stare directly into Dad's eyes, watching as they shifted from shocked to outraged to finally settling on something that looked a lot like terrified.

"Answer her question, Baltor," Mom said in a low, tight voice, backing out of his arms with her own crossed forcefully over her chest. Her eyes were hard as stone.

Dad turned towards Mom and opened his mouth, but eventually just exhaled and turned back to me. When he spoke, it was in the tone of a man who'd just watched his whole world crumble around him. "What brought this on, Alyssa? There's more to this story; I can sense it."

I swallowed hard. After seeing the effect my first simple question had had on my parents' relationship, I almost wanted to back out, but it was too late now. "I met a girl in Magix a couple weeks ago. Her name is Haylee, and she looks about twenty-ish. She said her mother was some woman named Icy and that…" Deep breath. "That you were her father."

Mom's lips formed an O shape. But it was Dad I concentrated on, hoping more than anything that he'd be able to explain it away. I could see the wheels turning in his mind, as he tried to calculate the time based on Haylee's approximate age. _Please, __please, _please _let __her __have __been __lying,_ I prayed.

But when he turned to Mom and started, "Bloom, I can explain," my heart sank to my feet.

"Go to hell," Mom snapped, the amount of venom in her voice startling me. "I can't believe you. All that crap you gave me about Sky last year, and you fathered a fucking _child_ with Icy?"

I had never seen Dad look so heartbroken. "Bloom, please," he pleaded. "This was before you and I were anything more than enemies. It meant nothing. You have to believe me!"

"I don't owe you anything anymore," she retorted angrily. "Get out of my sight!" After a tense couple of seconds, she finally just sighed exasperatedly, snapped her fingers, and disappeared. Less than a heartbeat later, Dad disappeared after her, although I highly doubted he'd manage to catch her – she could've gone anywhere.

My knees gave way, and I sank to the floor, tucking my knees up into a ball. Haylee's parting comment about '_my __perfect __little __world __shattering __like __glass_' came to mind, and I could almost hear her high, vicious laugh ringing in my head. I felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

So that's exactly what I did.

* * *

><p>"Alyssa? Sweetheart, are you okay?"<p>

_Urgh__…_

My head felt like someone was repeatedly jamming an ice pick into it, and my mouth was dry as cotton. I had no idea how long I'd been curled up in a ball crying in the hallway for, but apparently it was a long time, if I was feeling this crappy.

A cool glass of water suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere, and I drank it down eagerly, practically sighing in relief as my headache ebbed. After a couple more swallows, I was almost starting to feel human again.

And then I remembered why I'd just cried my eyes out, and my spirits sank all over again. Defeatedly, I rested my forehead against my knees.

"Alyssa? Can I talk to you now?" I looked up to see Dad kneeling beside me, the empty water glass in his hand.

I tensed, sure he was angry with me for totally destroying his relationship with Mom. "Are you… mad at me?"

To my surprise, he sighed and shook his head ruefully, sitting down on the floor next to me. "No, Alyssa, I'm not mad at you. Even though you were the one who brought it out into the open, it was my mistake. I brought this on myself; I should've known your mother would find out one way or another."

I didn't exactly know how to respond. I'd never had a conversation like this with Dad before. On the other hand, I did still have a thousand questions for him. "Whatever happened between you and Haylee's mother," I started, "…it wasn't while you were married to Mom, was it?" I didn't think I could live with myself if the answer was yes.

"Of course not." Thankfully, he seemed appropriately outraged at the idea. "It was during your mother's third year at Alfea, when I, er… well, you know." Even if it was years ago, it was still awkward to refer to Dad's past as a power-mad convict. "I was upset one night when my plans failed, and Icy was there – God knows the Trix all had not-so-secret crushes on me – and I just… it was a moment of weakness. Even then, I imagined that she was your mother."

"Okay, did not need to know _that_." I shuddered. "Way, _way_ too much information, Dad."

He cracked a grin, and I smiled despite myself. It was so unlike him to look so… depressed, and I felt bad that I had caused it. "But that's all it was – one night. And I swear I never knew about the girl. The Trix ditched me at the end, and I heard they got sent back to Light Rock Monastery. And then they just sort of disappeared. Well, besides that incident when you were four."

"I believe you." There was a moment of awkward silence, before I felt brave enough to broach the topic that was nagging in the back of my mind. "Is… is Mom coming back?"

I saw his eyes flicker with sadness. "I'm not sure where she is right now – the magical dimension is so vast, she could be anywhere. I don't think she's just taken off forever; I don't believe she'd do that to you, no matter how mad she is at me right now. I wish more than anything that I could give you a straight answer – that I could tell you 'yes'. But the truth is, I really don't know."

I sighed. The guilt was overwhelming. "This is all my fault."

"Stop blaming yourself for our problems, sweetheart. This was bound to come out eventually, and your mother probably would've reacted the same way. And as for the girl – Haylee, you said her name was? – well, I do think it's better that I know now." He rubbed his temples, musing, "I still can't believe I have another daughter."

I didn't really know how to respond to that; he seemed lost in his own little world. I was just about to get up and maybe go to the kitchen to get something to eat (my stomach was suddenly growling something fierce) when he looked up and asked, "Are _you _mad at _me_?"

"Why in the realms would I be mad at you?" Any thoughts of my snack abandoned, I settled back down next to him and snuggled up to his side, resting my head on his shoulder. "From what I understand, you just made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes." All truth – now that my initial anger had cooled off, and I had heard his side of the story, I wasn't anything close to mad at him anymore, especially since it seemed that Haylee had been right about him not knowing about her. And how could _I_ be mad at the poor guy, when Mom was mad enough for a hundred people?

"Well, that's good to know." He absentmindedly ran his fingers through my hair a couple times. "I know we haven't always had the best relationship." I winced, remembering how much I'd resented him growing up, and how even when I'd learned why he'd lied and kept so many secrets I still hadn't made any real effort to reach out and make amends. "I have something for you. It's from my life before the Omega Dimension."

"Hmm?" I looked up, intrigued. Although my parents had gone into great detail about their history together my freshmen year, and Mom had expanded on her childhood, I knew next to nothing about Dad's past before the attack that destroyed Sparx. In all honesty, I wasn't one hundred percent sure he'd actually _had_ a life; I always thought of him as sort of just springing out of the Ancestresses's dark embers fully formed, ready to do their bidding.

From some unseen pocket in his jacket, he pulled out a thin gold chain necklace that had a little gold fleur-de-lis charm dangling from it. "It belonged to my mother – your grandmother, who died in the attack on Sparx. I have a few pieces of her jewelry saved; your mother's wedding ring is one of them. I've always thought this one should be yours, and I just never found the right time to give it to you."

"It's beautiful. I love it." I took it from him and laid it on my collarbone right away, fastening the clasp in the back. "Thank you. But… why now?"

"Because I want to make sure you know that despite this colossal mistake I made twenty years ago, you and your mother are my family. I choose her, and you, and I haven't regretted it once – not even today." He kissed me on the forehead. "I'm going to get her back. And in the meantime, you need to go back to school."

I sighed heavily. "Can't I just stay here for one night? I really don't want to go back to the mess I left behind in Magix right now."

Something in my eyes must've convinced him I was telling the truth, because he acquiesed. "Alright. I'll call Faragonda and tell her we've had some family trouble, and need you home for tonight. But just one night, got it? Tomorrow we both have to face up to our problems."

"Okay." I got to my feet and impulsively threw my arms around his torso for a tight hug. I couldn't remember the last time I'd done that. "I love you, Dad." Also couldn't remember the last time I'd said that.

"I love you too, Alyssa."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Can I get a collective "awwww"? :)<strong>

****To all my Sparxshipping fans reading this, I'm sorry! I know, I know, I just barely threw them back together after the Sky thing and now there's this. Believe me, I don't like this any more than you do. But it's necessary, not the least of which being the sweet father-daughter moment we just got. I won't be mean, though - I do promise they'll be back together by the end of the story.****

**So... yeah. A _lot_ of shit went down these last two chapters. In my original outline, Haylee was just some random girl, but the sister twist came to me in one of those random moments where you just get interesting ideas (you know what I'm talking about?) and I ended up liking it so much I threw it in. It's a lot better this way, I think - gives Haylee a more personal vendetta. In case anyone's curious, I'd imagined her conception to be after the events of episode 23, The Wizard's Challenge. A backstory companion piece on her is in the works, and should be up no later than whenever I finally finish this (I'm still debating if I want to throw in a bonus scene based on the end, in which case I'd have to delay posting to prevent spoilers).**

**Speaking of backstory companion pieces... my prequel A Moment Like This is up and a couple chapters in now, so if you haven't read it yet, I'd suggest you go give that a look (once you review, of course ;-). It's exactly what it says on the tin: a prequel backstory fic, explaining what happened from the end of Season 3 that led up to the details surrounding Alyssa's circumstances when she starts Alfea in WCN.**

**And finally - please, please, please, please, _PLEASE_ do drop me a line or two and tell me what you thought. I hate to sound like I'm begging for reviews, but the lack of feedback on the last few chapters is starting to get to me. :(**

**Ciao, darlings!**

**- Authoress**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I walked back through Alfea's gates feeling like I'd aged ten years since I'd left campus yesterday for that movie afternoon with the girls. _I must have some kind of curse on me,_ I thought bitterly. _How else do you explain the trouble I keep getting into without trying?_

Once again, my family life was in shambles and it was left to me to pick up the pieces – this time, with the wonderful side benefit of the crushing guilt over having been the one that had done the shattering. (Well, technically it was Haylee, but I feel guilty all the same.) Even the tiny scrap of silver lining – that Dad and I had bonded a little – couldn't make up for this giant storm cloud of monsoon proportions.

_Ryan. I need Ryan_.

Less than a second after the thought had entered my head, my mind was made up; I was going to Red Fountain. The other girls were amazing listeners, but there were still all those loose ends from last year hanging out there, and right now I just needed someone who would give me comfort completely unconditionally. And Ryan positively excelled at that. (He was also quite wonderful at making me stop thinking when I needed to turn off my brain for a while…)

I breezed back into the common room like a girl on a mission, only stopping to drop off the few things I'd grabbed from my room in the palace to take back to Alfea. Thankfully, the suite was deserted; I didn't really feel like explaining my actions to anyone right now. After running a comb through my hair a couple times (just so I didn't look like a frazzled, bedraggled mess in front of my boyfriend), I stuck my cell phone in my pocket and headed back towards the door again.

"Alyssa!" My hand stilled above the doorknob, and I silently cursed my misfortune as Mel poked her head out the door of her room. "You're back! We were all so worried about you."

"Yeah… I'm back…" I said, turning to face her, fingers closing around the handle behind my back. If I could just get the door open, maybe I could slip out discreetly…

"What happened with your parents?" she continued, and I bit my tongue.

"You know, it's a long story, and I'd rather not tell it more than once. I was actually on my way to go see Ryan right now, if you don't mind…"

Her eyes lit up, and my stomach did a somersault. "You're going to Red Fountain?" Dumbly, I nodded. "Great! I was about to go there myself. Now we can go together." She ducked back inside to grab something, and I exhaled a sigh of annoyance. This chaperone business was getting truly ridiculous.

_Well, at least she's not trying to stop me…_ _And she did say she had her own errand, although who knows what that is… Maybe if I'm lucky she'll just leave me alone._

"Nice necklace," she said, shutting the door behind her. I looked down to see the fleur-de-lis charm nestled below my collarbone; I hadn't taken it off since Dad gave it to me, and I guess I forgot I was wearing it.

"It has… sentimental value," I said finally, fingering it out of force of habit. "But that's part of the story I'll tell you all later." She nodded.

For the first time, I really looked at her, and almost did a double take. Mel, who lived in sneakers, tank tops, and baggy jeans or cargos, was wearing a bright blue off-the-shoulder long-sleeved shirt that slouched down to reveal a black bra strap on one shoulder, a black micro-miniskirt, and high heels. Her hair was tied back in two long pigtails and she wore what looked like a ton of makeup, another first for tomboyish Mel.

She looked like something out of a video game, or a cartoon pinup. It was more than a little ridiculous, and my stomach churned when I thought about what reasons she might have to be going to Red Fountain, dressed like this.

"Mel," I started cautiously, "are you going to RF to see anyone in particular?"

Her silence was all the answer I needed.

"This isn't you, Mel," I argued. "He should like you for who you are, not who you're pretending to be." _Not to mention Lola still has no clue that everyone's going gaga over her brother… but that's a whole other issue._

She stared back at me with eyes wide and innocent. "What's wrong with dressing up a little to catch a guy's attention? Don't tell me you didn't do that when you and Ryan first started dating."

"Well, yes," I admitted, "but that's different. I never started dressing like something I'm not. And besides–" a pang of guilt hit me square in the chest at the memory, but I wasn't sure if anything else would bring Mel to her senses right now– "Derek chose Alexa."

Her face went stony for a minute, then back to neutral. "If this is what Derek likes, then I'm going to try my hand. Guys are fickle, you know, and I can't imagine Alexa provides scintillating conversation." There was a derisive tone to her voice. "He'll get bored with her, and look for someone new. And then I'll be there."

She seemed so convinced that this absurd plan would work, so completely wrapped up in her own little bubble world, that I just didn't know what to do about it. Finally, I sighed and said, "If that's what you really want to do, Mel."

But though on the outside I wore a mask of resigned acceptance, inside I was boiling over in rage. This anger was fierce and sharp and directed at one person; not Mel or even Derek, though.

No, this anger wore a different, far more familiar face.

_Alexa_.

* * *

><p>"So are you going to try today? Or do I get to knock you out of the sky a few times?"<p>

I braced myself against the whirlwind, curling my toes at the front of my boots like I was gripping ground instead of air. "I am _not_ going down so easily this time," I spat, shaking my hair out of my face.

Alexa tilted her head to the side, looking almost bored. "Really? Somehow I don't believe that."

Something like a low growl escaped my throat. My utter hatred of her – for flouncing into Alfea and trying to steal Ryan, for luring Derek into her clutches and breaking poor Mel's heart – gave the Dragon Fire a new intensity I'd never felt before. It exploded like a firework, the air around me sizzling.

Her eyebrows arched. "Now we're getting somewhere," she remarked coolly. "At this rate, you'll be an old woman by the time you finally learn how to do this."

The patronizing tone of her voice only fueled my inhuman rage. "You don't get to talk to me like that anymore," I started, my voice coming from somewhere deep inside of me, something I hadn't even known existed. "Ever since you came to Alfea, you've done nothing but mess with my head and ruin my life. And now you're screwing with my friends too? This ends now, Alexa."

Something shifted inside of me; something dark and foreboding flooded my veins, ratcheting up my anger to impossible heights. I felt strong enough to break every bone in her miserable body – and I wanted to. _Craved_ it, even, to watch her suffer and writhe in agony.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that this was getting out of control, but the rational part of me was locked behind a glass wall. There was nothing left to feel but this overwhelming, all-consuming, total and complete _hatred_…

I heard her gasp in surprise, and felt a dark surge of pleasure at causing it. "Alyssa? Listen to me. You have to calm down. I know you must be feeling very angry right now, but you have to control it. Do you hear me? Control it. Don't let it control you." Her voice sounded like what you'd use on a frightened wild animal, or a crying child – and very far away, like I was hearing her through a tunnel.

_Now she's scared of me. Good._

"No one controls me, Alexa. And _especially_ not you."

I bit my lip as a shudder wracked through my body; it never used to _hurt_ to summon my power. For a moment, the anger slipped, and I saw myself as Alexa must have: terrible and threatening. Then, like a car slamming to a halt, I was thrown back into the darkness.

_She must pay… she must pay… she must pay…_

"Alyssa, stop!" she screeched. I barely had a second's warning to cast a protective bubble before the very currents keeping me balanced in midair threatened to toss me to the ground. My God, I knew Alexa was strong, but not like this… It was like the very air I breathed was turning against me; wanting to pitch me back and forth, rip me limb from limb, smack me against the floor like a pancake…

I thought I would burn up from the sheer magnitude of my own firepower, trying to counter her. My nerves felt like they had turned to electricity, sparking and jumping unpleasantly in my veins. And that manic part of me didn't care; all it wanted was revenge, no matter what the cost. I fought desperately against it, but it was too strong…

"Girls! Stop this _right now_!" Ms Faragonda's voice seemed to echo through every fiber of my being, and in the space of one breath I felt myself forced into de-transforming. Something like a cloud caught me as I fell, bringing me down softly.

There was a funny feeling in my head, like a headache I hadn't realized I'd had was gone. Whatever that… demonic force was egging me on, it was gone now, its throbbing presence having vanished with my wings, and for that I was immensely grateful.

That had been… scary as hell.

When I fought Taylor, I'd used dark magic for such a short moment, I didn't really have much time to think except for _I really want to kick her sorry ass_. This, though… This was different. It was like the anger was a separate entity, controlling me while I was forced to watch from somewhere outside my own body. That my magic, the one thing I had always been able to rely on, had done this to me made me want to rip my own DNA out of my body, so it could never happen again.

For the first time, I thought about Dad, dealing with that strong, overbearing force every time he used his powers. When I'd first learned the truth about his past, I hadn't been able to believe he was capable of things like that, but maybe it wasn't all him.

_How does _he_ deal with this?_

Ms Faragonda's eyes flashed angrily as she materialized in front of me. "I cannot believe you two," she started, sounding nothing like the kind old lady I normally knew. I looked to my right and saw Alexa, also in normal clothes again, floating on a similar cloud. "That was _deplorable_. I don't care what personal differences you two have outside of this arena; you _cannot_ let them influence you here. I'm honestly not sure that you two wouldn't have killed each other if I hadn't intervened when I did. You were supposed to be teaching Alyssa to control herself, Alexa, and instead you just let her do untold damage to herself, egging her on even. And Alyssa – I don't even know where to begin with you."

"So then palm her off on someone else," Alexa said boredly, studying her nails. "She won't even consider letting me teach her; no matter what I do, she just snarks at me. The only way I can even slightly get through to her is with force."

My hands clenched into fists, nails cutting into my palms. "You're blaming _me_ for your inability to teach?" I all but snarled at her. "What about the fact that you have been nothing but nasty to me ever since you got here, that you've never even tried to apologize for making out with my boyfriend, that you act like I'm _below_ you or something–"

"Pot calling the kettle black, anyone? Have you ever apologized to _me_?"

"_Girls_!" Ms F boomed. "I knew the two of you were an unpredictable pairing, but I had no idea it would be this bad. But I cannot just, as Alexa so eloquently put it, 'palm Alyssa off on someone else'. And after what I saw today, it's more important than ever that Alyssa be taught to control herself. Which means you two are going to learn to like each other whether you like it or not."

My jaw clenched. "Remind me again why _she_'s the only one who can help me?"

For a moment, her perfect composure faltered, and I saw her face flicker with sadness. "That is not my story to tell." She straightened up abruptly. "But you two will have plenty of time to share stories soon." I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Effective immediately, the two of you are on in-school suspension. You are not allowed to go anywhere or talk to anyone but each other, for as long as it takes for you to work out your differences. I will monitor things, and it will be to my discretion when you have adequately learned to trust each other."

Alexa's eyes went wide. "But… how can you suspend me? I'm not even technically a student here!"

"You need your credits to formally graduate, and as long as you and Alyssa are at each others' throats, you will not get them." Ms F's voice was firm. "Beginning tomorrow, you will report to room 18 for the day. Meals will be brought in." There was a slight softening to her tone. "I am sorry to do this girls, but you've left me with no other option." She closed her eyes and vanished.

Alexa's eyes burned as she stepped off her cloud and headed for the door. "See you tomorrow, _'Liss_."

_Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I'm back! Sorry for the wait, but I just finished rewriting What Comes Next (which I highly recommend you go check out if you haven't already; it's like 1000% better than the original), and I've also been getting really into some original stuff lately. But never fear - I am by no means abandoning this one. Gotta see this thing through to the end! ;-)<strong>

**So... yeah. I don't know what you guys were expecting, but I highly doubt it was this, am I right? Yes, our 'Liss is about to spend some quality time with the Wicked Witch of Magix (virtual cookies to anyone who can remember whose nickname for Alexa that is! Hint: it's in one of the last three chapters). Watching this story unfold is so much fun, because we are in for _such_ a bumpy ride from here to the end. (Haha sorry I keep teasing you guys like this. Updates will be forthcoming, I promise.)**

**Okay, I'm off to go dance my ass off (everyone needs nights like that, you know, to burn off that excess energy; even us writers. Gimme a shout-out if you agree!). Please don't forget to hit the Review on your way out and tell me what you thought. :)**

**Later!**

**- Authoress**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

I was actively studying the underside of the desk, grimacing at the gum, when there was a loud banging sound. Looking up, I saw Alexa striding into the classroom, her face set with a practiced boredom. Even when all she was going to be doing was sitting around an empty classroom all day, she looked impeccable: gray cashmere cowl-neck sweater, tight black miniskirt over cranberry-red opaque tights, black high-heeled leather booties, and that ubiquitous silver rose necklace. Her heavily lined eyes narrowed when they fell on me, her face shifting to a look of pure disgust, before she scoffed and headed towards the back of the classroom.

"You heard Faragonda," I called out to her, not out of any real interest in making peace but just so I could get out of this horrible punishment as soon as possible. "We have to learn to get along. She's not going to let us out until we do."

"Do I hear something?" she retorted, as if speaking to herself. "Is someone trying to talk to me? No, I guess not." Her blue eyes were hard and cold as stone.

An overwhelming surge of anger raced through me, canceling out all the best of my intentions. I balled my hands into fists, nails cutting into my palms hard enough to draw blood. "Fine then. Have it your way." I plopped back down into the chair, turning my body as far away from her as possible. From behind me, I heard her snort.

_This is going to be a _long_ day…_

* * *

><p>It was several long, boring hours later before I tried talking to her again. "What do you want me to say?" I asked, still refusing to turn around and look at her. "Do you want me to <em>apologize<em> to you?"

"That would be nice."

"But for what? _You're_ the one who set her sights on Ryan the second she got here, effectively killing any chance of the two of us getting along. And then you have to go set your hooks into Derek? Really?"

There was a long pause, that made me fervently wish I could watch her body language responses. But I'd be damned if I was going to be the first one to make a concession to this conversation. "There you go again," she said finally, in a mocking taunt of a voice. "Your moral absolutism is quite astounding. What's it like to live in a world where you're absolutely infallible, where everything bad in your life is the fault of someone else? Must be pretty damn nice."

My jaw set angrily. "I am not… That is not me!"

"You want to know why I dislike you?" she continued, as if I'd said nothing. "I find you arrogant beyond belief. Here you are, with this wonderful life – amazing friends, loving parents, doting boyfriend – and all you ever see is the bad. It's like you take for granted all the good things in your life, while finding reasons to complain about the tiniest little things just so you can get everyone's pity. And no matter what's happened, nothing is ever your fault. You find reasons to antagonize people and then lash out, and the most dangerous part is that with your powers, if you keep going on like this, it's very likely that one day you might just kill someone like that. And I sure as hell am not about to stick around and let it be me."

"…I'm supposed to _apologize _to you, after _that_?" I asked incredulously. "Dream on. You talk about me putting myself on a pedestal, but that sure sounds a lot like what you're doing to yourself here."

"I never tried to claim I was blameless," she said coolly. "That's the essential difference between you and me. Unlike you, _I_ take responsibility for my actions."

My blood was boiling, but I tried to force myself to stay calm. Maybe we were still screaming at each other, but at least we were talking. It was a start, at least, and well worth protecting for as long as it lasted. "So then you're admitting that you started this whole war between the two of us, when you got here and went after Ryan even though you _knew_ he was with me?"

Another long pause, before she sighed. "I just… Ryan was my first real boyfriend, and I don't know, I didn't realize just how serious he was about you. I kind of thought he was just messing around, like I did when we first broke up, and that sooner or later he'd realize what a mistake he'd made and come back to me. And then in that case, why shouldn't I help him come to that realization sooner? But it was wrong, and I'm sorry."

_I'm sorry_.

The air in the room felt different with the weight of her apology. I swallowed hard as she continued. "The way Ryan looks at you… He never looked at me like that. And I guess I was just jealous that you got that, when I've known him for longer. I always thought he was my one and only, and that's hard to let go."

In a strange sort of way, I could understand that. When I tried to imagine Ryan suddenly changing his mind about me and going after some other girl, there was no way I wouldn't instinctively hate her with a burning passion. It didn't excuse anything she'd done to me, but it did soften the blow to the point where maybe I could try to like her after all.

Swallowing my pride, I turned around to face her. Her eyes went wide as they met mine, flickering with surprise, although she quickly regained her composure. "You were right," I said, my tongue feeling slightly heavy in my mouth as I said the words. "Things got to be the way they are between the two of us because _both_ of us said nasty things to the other that were mostly unwarranted. But for what it's worth, I really am sorry."

I was surprised to find that I actually meant every word out of my mouth. But what surprised me even more was that Alexa actually seemed to believe me.

"Can I ask, though; what was all that about Derek?"

I bit my lip, feeling ashamed. "That was just… a mess. I'm sorry; I blamed you because you were an easy target, because my friend Mel really likes him, but obviously he wants you. I am so sorry for that."

To my surprise, she chuckled. "We really just keep getting our signals crossed, don't we?" I gaped at her nonchalance, as she continued, "I'm sorry about your friend. To be honest, I don't even know what this is with me and Derek, or if it's going to last." She grinned conspiratorily. "But I'm not so sure she'd really want him if she got to know him a little better."

I gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I've been figuring that out for myself." There was a moment of slightly awkward silence, and I looked her over, really seeing her for the first time. Alexa wasn't a psychopath or a boundary-crossing bitch; she was just a girl. And I didn't need any more enemies than I already had.

"Do you think… we can ever get past this?" My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, hearing my train of thought come out of Alexa's mouth.

Impulsively, I got up and walked over to a desk in the back closer to hers. "Do you want to? Really want to, and not just so Faragonda will let us out of here already?"

"Actually, yes," she said softly, looking up to meet my gaze. "I was harsh on you before because I was angry; I don't really think you're horrible and selfish like that. You have this amazing inner strength that I really envy. And you don't let yourself be bullied, or take negativity from anyone – you fight back, hard. I wish I could be a little more like that, actually." She looked down, intently studying her shoe.

My mouth formed an O shape. Beautiful, confident, kick-ass Alexa wanted to be more like me? "But you… You're challenging, and brave, and fearless."

"A very good illusion." She still wouldn't look at me, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the leg of the desk.

"What… what do you mean?"

"Do you remember how Faragonda keeps saying that there's a special reason she chose me to mentor you?"

I blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

I had to swallow a gasp as she finally looked up, the beginning of tears glittering at the corners of her eyes. "It's a long story, but we've got nothing but time, so…" She took a deep breath, discreetly bringing a finger to the corner of her eye. "My mother was a professor of magical theory before she married my father. During some of her research, she stumbled upon some obscure texts about the properties of dark magic. One in particular seemed to suggest there was a way for light magic users to harness its strength and power for themselves. She became obsessed with the idea, and experimented constantly on herself, retreating almost completely from the rest of the world. I was young, amd my dad tried to shield me from the worst of it. But there was no disgusing her manic fits, her shrieks in the middle of the night, seizures that gave off burning sparks of electricity…" She shuddered, as if recalling an unpleasant memory. Without thinking twice, I reached out and took her hand in mine.

Alexa looked up, startled, before smiling gratefully at me and continuing. "What you can do should be impossible. Dark magic is toxic to those that practice light magic, as I'm sure you must know. She was slowly poisoning herself over time, and nothing anyone said could get her to stop." A chilling feeling spread through my veins. "I was the one who found her body, in the library, surrounded by spellbooks in demon languages and what looked like a chalk-drawn pentagram. She almost didn't look like a _person_ anymore: skeleton thin and ghostly pale, blood dripping from a cut on her arm that stung like acid, and her eyes were soulless and empty and black as night. I was only nine years old."

Something wet traced a path down my cheekbone, and I realized that I was crying. "Alexa, that's… horrible."

"The cover story was that Lady Diana simply died of a heart attack; here one day, gone the next. Within a year my dad remarried, this girl named Celine who was barely twenty. Once my twin half-brothers Malcolm and Matthew came along, it was like he forgot all about my mom. Sometimes I think he wishes I would disappear too, so I don't ruin his perfect second family anymore." Her tone was crisp, detached, like this was something she'd long since come to accept. I was stunned at how much it made my heart hurt, for this girl I'd hated not even twenty-four hours ago.

"That can't be true," I insisted. "Maybe you just remind him of her, and it hurts him to remember." I thought about my own dad, and the way he'd treated me growing up; that seemed like a perfectly logical answer.

For a moment, I saw a spark of hope in her eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Regardless, when I was old enough to piece together what _really_ happened to her, I dedicated myself to studying dark magic, and defense against it – which is why Faragonda chose me to mentor you. But I've never seen anything like what you can do. You're like the living embodiment of what my mom killed herself to become."

"It's because of my parents," I offered lamely, trying to explain what I only barely understood myself. "They both draw power from the Dragon Fire, so somehow I got a flame that's half dark and half light."

Her face took on a contemplative look. "I hadn't thought of that, actually. The Dragon Fire is quite unique amongst the magics of the dimension… Perhaps that's the key to figuring out how you can do what you do."

"While we're apologizing, I'm sorry for almost trying to kill you yesterday." My cheeks burned at the memory.

"Don't be," she insisted, looking lively for the first time since the suspension had started. "It's my job to help you figure out how to control yourself, and I can't do diddlysquat if you're not using dark magic. And now, I think I have a starting point for some research…"

"Then perhaps I should let you to it." Ms Faragonda's voice seemed to come from nowhere, as she materialized in front of us. "I must say, girls, I'm quite surprised this took such little time. But I believe you have accomplished the goal I set for this sentence, and as such, you are free to go."

I got to my feet slowly. Somehow, the fact that we were in here because of a punishment had completely left my mind. Looking at Alexa, I could tell she felt the same way.

"Thank you, Ms Faragonda," she said. Then unexpectedly, she reached for me and pulled me into a hug. It was quick and a little bit awkward, but it said more than a thousand words could've hoped to. "Um, I'll see you around, 'Liss?" She looked at me tentatively, with wide eyes, and I realized that was the first time she'd used my nickname without meaning it mockingly.

I smiled widely, to reassure her it was alright. "Yeah. See you around."

* * *

><p>Instead of going back to my room (at this point, classes were already over for the day; thank God I'd only be out for one day), I wandered aimlessly around campus, feeling strangely untethered. My whole mentality had shifted in light of Alexa's story; I kept replaying those words in my mind, the vivid imagery bringing them to life in startling clarity. <em>Manic fits, shrieks in the middle of the night, seizures that gave off burning sparks of electrictiy… skeleton thin and ghostly pale, blood that burned like acid, eyes soulless and empty and black as night…<em>

As if I didn't have enough reasons to be freaked out about dark magic.

My phone was out and Dad's number on speed dial before I even realized what I was doing. _He's always said there's never a bad time to call him_, I rationalized, leaning against a wall near a window in a deserted hallway, listening to the ringing. _And I'm going to make myself crazy unless I talk to someone about this._

"Alyssa?" He sounded like he was trying too hard to sound normal; exhaustion was clear underneath the façade. "Did something happen? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine now. It's a long story." As best as I could, I gave him the rundown of the last two days, glossing over the worst of the fight to keep him from going into Crazy Overprotective Dad mode. "And I just… That story scared the crap out of me," I concluded lamely, hoping he would, in all his wisdom, be able to discern my real reasons for calling.

He didn't disappoint. "Alexa's mother was playing with forces she didn't understand. Dark magic isn't like that when you're born with it." He was always so good at telling me what I needed to hear; before I'd understood the depths of the power that connected us, I'd always marveled at the fact that he seemed to be able to read my mind. (Now, of course, it made perfect sense.) But his last statement only filled me with more questions.

"What's it like for you, then?"

He hesitated. "I'm afraid I'm not the best reference point for you here. I was made to be a being of dark magic, all I've ever used is dark magic; there's nothing out of the ordinary about it for me."

"Wonderful." I tipped my head back, biting my tongue in pain as it banged against the wall. "How am I ever supposed to learn how to control this power of mine when no one can even figure out why I even have it?"

"You are unique, yes, but that shouldn't be any cause for alarm. We'll figure this out somehow, Alyssa; I promise."

I sighed, and pushed myself off from the wall, slowly walking in the direction of the dorm. "If you say so." Changing tacks, I asked him, "How are things back home?"

We both knew I was asking about far more than what my question seemed to imply. "Your mother has returned to the palace," he started carefully, and a surge of hope zinged to life in my chest. "But–" and the hopeful feeling withered– "only in an official capacity, as the Queen of Sparx. She's still refusing to talk to me."

I tasted guilt in the back of my throat, sour and bitter. "This is all my fault."

"Stop blaming yourself for this, Alyssa." His tone was casual and even, but I heard the edge to it and knew that was my signal to back down. "I'm going to make things right somehow, I promise you. For now, you just worry about your studies and your friends."

I paused in front of a window, leaning my forehead against the cool glass, looking out but not really seeing anything. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

I hesitated. "Do you… ever want to meet Haylee?"

For a long moment, there was silence on his end, and I started to worry that I'd crossed some invisible line in asking him that. Finally, I heard him exhale. "If she really is my daughter… I can't say I'm not interested in the idea. But that's nowhere near the top of my priorities right now."

"I know," I said reflexively, feeling the urge to backpedal. "I was just wondering." There was a moment of awkward silence, before I added, "Well, I should probably go find my friends…"

"It was nice to hear from you, sweetheart," he said, effortlessly sliding past the awkward subject. "Your mother sends her love."

_How do you know that, if she won't even talk to you?_ No matter what he said otherwise, I still felt like someone was stabbing my chest with ice picks every time I thought about my parents' relationship problems. "Give her mine too." _Though she won't actually get it, because she's not talking to you, because of what _I_ did_. "Talk to you later."

The conversation left a bad taste in my mouth that lingered through the rest of the way back to my room. _Why is it that no matter what I do these days, I always end up feeling like I got the short end of the stick?_

The dorm was eerily silent when I got back, although it was quite likely that the five of them had just decided to go into Magix without me. Feeling suddenly drained, I headed towards my room, thinking longingly of throwing myself down onto my bed and leaving the world behind for a few hours. _Mmm… how did I not realize how tired I was before?_

I stepped past the threshold of my room, inhaling deeply. A familiar scent tickled my nose, and even that tiny hint of a whiff sent my heart racing. _Calm down, Alyssa_, I told myself, feeling my breathing accelerate._ Maybe Lola knocked over some of her perfumes and they mixed together. There's no way Taylor's actually here; she's locked up for good in some insane asylum._

But like one of my worst nightmares, I turned my head and saw a blond girl sitting on my bed. My mouth went dry.

"Alyssa?" The voice was familiar, but it wasn't Taylor's sarcastic, mocking tones. Through the haze of panic, my vision sharpened enough to see the golden undertones to this girl's hair, the tinge of green in her blue eyes, the hesitant and expectant look on her face.

No, not Taylor at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: ...dying to know more? Well, you know how to motivate me to work faster - just hit that little button down there. ;-)<strong>

**For the record, a few weeks have passed since Alyssa found out about Haylee in ch. 7. And now, we start to get the major plotline rolling! Every chapter from now on is jam-packed with action and importance.**

**Ciao,**

**- Authoress**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Miriam?" My palms started to sweat. "What in the realms are you doing here?"

She stared at me with eyes wide and endearing, not a trace of the malicious intent that would've been there if this was a dream. Subtly, I reached behind my back and pinched my forearm, swallowing my yelp of pain. _So this is real… Is it bad that I wish it was a dream?_ "I know I said I wasn't going to bother you anymore, but I heard about your sister… and just couldn't stay away."

My hands clenched into fists by my sides. "You should have." Her lips formed an O shape, and a tiny gasp of surprise met my ears. "I can't believe you had the nerve to come back here after what you did, to act like everything's all fine and even between us. You sold me out to a psychopath with a price on my head! And that's not something I can ever forget." A sharp pain emanated from my palms, and I looked down to find ugly red half-moon-shaped groves where my nails had dug into the skin. My heart was pounding a hundred miles a minute, blood racing through my veins like liquid fire.

I'd thought about what I might say to Miriam if I ever saw her again no less than a hundred times, but it wasn't until I actually came face to face with her that I realized just how upset I was. This anger was fierce and sharp and seemed to come from somewhere inside of me that I hadn't even known existed until now. Neither Taylor nor Haylee had ever managed to make me feel like this before.

She visibly flinched, like my words were weapons. "Alyssa… I'm more sorry than you can ever know for what I did. If I could take it all back, I would in a _heartbeat_."

The sight of her big wide eyes caused cracks in my anger. "That doesn't change anything," I insisted vehemently, trying to make myself believe it. "Feeling sorry about something doesn't erase the fact that you did it." _As I know all too well now…_

"I know." She hung her head. "And I understand if you want to see me roasting over an open fire, but I just thought… You were the best friend I ever had, even if our whole relationship was based on a lie. I still care about you. And I just hoped that maybe you'd be able to forgive me, after this much time."

"Well, you thought wrong." Even as I said it, I could feel my resolve weakening. Memories of shopping trips, laughing at cafes in Magix, crying on her shoulder when Alexa was being bitchy, crept into my mind like poisonous vines. _She's not all bad, remember?_ a little voice whispered in my mind. _She realized that what she was doing was wrong, and repented. And nothing she did was unforgivable… Dad's done way worse and you don't hold that against him…_

A loud crash from outside pulled me out of my thoughts. Startled, I crossed to the window and peered outside. Gray storm clouds were gathering where just five minutes ago there had been clear blue sky, and it was starting to rain – a dark, ominous precipitation that seemed far from natural. But it wasn't until I saw the flash of lightning that came perilously close to striking some poor unsuspecting girl sitting out on the quad that I knew for sure.

_Haylee…_

"What's going on?" Miriam asked. I was suddenly aware of her presence behind me, when I'd momentarily forgotten that she was even there.

I bit my lip. "I… have to go deal with something right now."

"Should I come with?"

"No!" Her face fell, and I felt a tiny pang of guilt in my stomach. "Just… wait here, okay?"

"So you're coming back?" She looked so hopeful… The pang increased to a full-blown hole in my stomach.

"Yeah, of course," I said, not sure whether I meant it or not. Before she had the time to reply, I was already running out the door.

* * *

><p>Izzy's laughter was manic and unhinged, like a crazy person off her medication. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she coaxed, lightning sparking from her fingertips almost uncontrollably. All over the courtyard, girls were running and screaming to avoid being shocked. "Oh, Alyssa… Better hurry up, unless you want me to fry one of your classmates. Not that I'd mind, of course."<p>

"You're enjoying this a little too much," Sonya remarked, sending rings of dark energy towards one of the taller towers. It crumbled like a sand castle, sending more girls running out of the path of the debris.

"Both of you are," Haylee snapped, looking irritated. "And neither of you has managed to find Alyssa. The rest of them are nothing. Collateral damage. _She's_ the important one, and she's _mine_. I swear to whatever screwed-up higher power there is, if you lay a finger on her I will make you–"

"Make them what?" I asked, hovering behind her. I didn't even give her time to respond before shooting a fireball at her back.

She ducked a split second before it would've knocked her out of the sky, whirling around to face me. "Hello, little sister," she drawled, her voice dripping in ice and venom. "Been to see Daddy lately?"

"You don't get to call him that," I spat, shooting more fireballs, which she continued to duck effortlessly.

Her laughter rang out over all the other noise, ice cold and piercing. "But you're not challenging me, which means you must have gotten the ugly truth confirmed." She twisted her face into an exaggerated mock pout. "Aww, did your mommy's heart break into a million pieces when she found out?"

I grit my teeth. It felt like my blood had turned to gasoline, and Haylee's words were a lit match. "You can talk all the trash you want about me, and even my dad, but you do _not_ get to disrespect my mother." The fire energy in my hands glowed even brighter.

"Oh really? And who's going to stop me? _You_?" Haylee's eyes narrowed. "You're nothing, Alyssa. A pathetic little piece of trash who doesn't know where she belongs. And it will be my greatest pleasure in life to put you there."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from answering her in kind. _You're the better person, Alyssa. Just knock her out of the sky a few times and send her running away with her tail between her legs._

It was a literal battle of opposites – fire versus ice. We circled each other for what seemed like hours, ducking and dodging and throwing and flying, magic sparking to resemble something like a fireworks show to anyone watching from above. Every time I thought I'd finally managed to get one over on her, she'd come back at me with twice the power. "Just give it up already, Alyssa," she taunted, shooting out an icy beam of magic that missed my wings by about two centimeters. I could almost still feel the frosty cold on my back, perilously close to sending me falling out of the sky. "You can't beat me."

"Oh yes I can," I shot back, fueled more by fury than any actual sense of assuredness. A familiar strong, dark anger surged through me, infusing my body with a renewed strength.

My breath caught in my throat reflexively, and I was thankful Haylee wasn't close enough to see it. Yesterday had been one of the scariest experiences of my life, and even though Alexa and I had had our differences at the time, I knew deep in my heart that she'd never truly hurt me. Not the case with Haylee. I barely knew what I was doing with this new power; how could I ever take it for a spin when the results actually mattered?

_But you've been battling her for this long and nothing's made a dent… You're undeniably stronger like this. What if this is the only way to beat her?_

"No…" I looked up to see Haylee's mouth forming an O shape. "It can't be…"

Her reaction only fueled the fire. _I can do this,_ I told myself, as the darkness leached into my skin, my blood, my bones, taking over every part of me. It stung, but not the way it had before, like maybe I'd finally learned how to control it at least a little bit. _That's good, right?_

But I still hesitated before unleashing it, and she caught that, vulture she was. "Ah, so I see how it is," she sneered, light blue eyes glowing with their viciousness. "Little miss priss has all this power, but she's scared to use it. I guess I shouldn't have expected more from a vanilla-bland, whiny little bitch like you." Blue sparks rained off her hands in a shower like firecrackers. "You're done, Alyssa."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," a familiar voice exclaimed. All I saw was a blur of dark hair and red skirt fly in front of me before Haylee was thrown backwards against the astronomy tower, like the wind itself had decided to give her a punch in the stomach. But I knew better than that.

"Alexa!" She pivoted in the air and flashed me a smile. "You are a lifesaver. Literally."

"That's what friends are for, right?" One blue eye dropped in a wink, and a tingly happy feeling spread through me. _Friends. That sounds about right._

I was taking a moment to survey the damage from above (and wow, there was a _lot_ of it. How could three witches wreak this much havoc on an entire school?) when out of the corner of my eye I saw familiar blue sparks. "This isn't over," Haylee spat, pushing herself off the side of the wall and flying back towards us. Her hands were glowing with magic, but for once, I wasn't her target. "Little Eraklyon upstart. Let's put you in your proper place."

Alexa barely had time to open her mouth before Haylee's ice froze her wings, sending her falling out of the sky. I watched helplessly as she fell, the impact with the ground accelerated by an icy gust of wind from Haylee's palms, like adding insult to injury. When she hit the ground, I winced.

That old anger flared up again, intensified now after what I'd just seen Haylee do. _Do it for Alexa. She's the one that's been teaching you how to use this; how disappointed would she be if she knew you had the chance to make things right and didn't take it?_

Haylee laughed cruelly. "So quick to defend your friend, are you? Surprising, considering not even a week ago you'd have helped me knock her down a peg or two, am I right?" I gaped; how did she know so much about my life? "Another time, Alyssa; I've grown tired of these games."

And before I could protest, she was gone.

_One of these days, Haylee, your little vanishing act trick isn't going to work in time, and then we'll see who gets the last laugh._

But for now, I had more important things to worry about.

* * *

><p>"Where's Alexa?" I exclaimed, racing into the infirmary like a girl on a mission (which was exactly what I was). "I need to see her right away."<p>

"Calm down, dear," Nurse Ophelia said. "Your friend is going to be alright."

I bit my lip. "Going to be… as in, right now she's not?" Ophelia hesitated, which was all the opening I needed. "Let me talk to her. I don't care if it's just for a few minutes; I need to see her."

"It's really not standard protocol to–"

"I could care less about protocol!" I snapped. Realizing how angry I sounded, and that anger probably wasn't the best way to go about getting what I wanted, I softened my tone slightly. "Look, this is all my fault, and I feel horrible about it. I need to see her, to apologize."

"What in the realms do you have to apologize for?" My heart leaped at the sound of Alexa's familiar sarcastic drawl, coming from behind a curtain on the far right wall. Without waiting for Ophelia's permission, I sprinted over to the wall and yanked back the curtain, revealing a battered-looking Alexa lying on a hospital bed, one arm wrapped in white gauze. The older woman sighed and turned back to her files, silently giving me her approval.

I turned back to the dark-haired girl. "Um, try everything?" I reached out to take her hand, the one not wrapped in bandages. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here."

She chuckled. "You really want to put this on yourself? Wow, I was more wrong about you than I'd thought." I cocked my head and gave her a pointed look, like _Explain yourself, please_. "No one _made_ me jump into that battle, least of all you, Alyssa. I did it because you're my friend and I wanted to protect you. It was _my_ choice. End of story. And it's really not as bad as it looks." She tried to make some kind of gesture with her hands, but winced as she attempted to move them, and finally just gave up. All the while her expression never changed, like she was determined to convince me she was fine despite all evidence to the contrary. _Just like you would be if the tables were turned_, a little voice in the back of my head whispered.

I bit my tongue. "But Haylee came here looking for me. All of the damage that happened today is my fault." The more I thought about it, the more my fingers twitched, anxious to do something instead of sitting around playing the victim. "This has gone on for too long. Who knows what she'll do next, just to get at me? And I don't know what there is for me to do to make it stop. All I know is that I'm so sick of sitting here and watching people die for me."

"Hey." Alexa's hand was on my forearm. "You're overreacting, 'Liss. No one died."

"Not yet," I shot back, twisting out from under her touch, feeling the blood racing through my veins. "But look at you. Don't lie to me; you're in pretty bad shape." She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. "And you're just the worst case, but I know there are others who got injured. Not to mention all the property damage. Faragonda would have me sit around and let the 'authorities' deal with Haylee, but I can't just do nothing anymore! How high do the stakes have to get before you finally say enough?"

"Alyssa, calm down," Alexa cautioned.

"No, I will not calm down! She's getting out of control! If she hates me for whatever godforsaken reason, then that's fine, but she needs to stop dragging the people I care about into her twisted vendetta." I sank into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs by the bedside, burying my face in my hands. "If only there was some way I could figure out why she's doing this. What fuels her insanity. There has to be something."

The room was quiet for a moment, the only sound coming from the ticking of the clock on the wall. Finally, Alexa tentatively reached out a hand to my shoulder. "I understand feeling useless; believe me, I do. Feeling so unbelievably mad at the world for throwing this into your lap and expecting you to just deal, for not giving you an adequate way to fight back – I get that. But what are you going to do? Run off and interrogate Haylee on your own?" She scoffed. "It'd be suicide. I know it's what people always say, but there really is safety in numbers. And the people that care about you put themselves in harm's way because they'd be devastated if anything happened to you; keep that in mind. You can't make other peoples' choices for them, no matter how much you might want to."

Alexa's speech was undoubtedly super-sweet and thoughtful, but I barely heard a word of it. About five seconds in, I was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea.

_Haylee's mom._

So far, the only thing I knew for sure about Haylee (besides that she was my half sister… gag me) was that she went extremely beserk at the mention of her mom. Maybe if I found her, I could get some insight into Haylee's past, figure out what made her tick, maybe even why she had so much resentment towards me, someone she'd never even met before.

It wasn't much – looking for _one_ woman out of the billions of people in the known universe? Needle in a haystack times a thousand – but it was _something_. A place to start. Something to do to keep me from going stir-crazy, locked up here at Alfea just waiting for her to strike again, like a sitting duck. I even knew her name – Isabella something or other.

_I could do this._

"Alyssa? Yoo-hoo, anyone home?" Alexa gave me a hard shove, jolting me back to reality. "Were you even listening to a word I said?"

I shook my head vigorously, trying to clear it. Alexa pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like that look," she said. It took me a minute to realize I must have had "I just got a brilliant and slightly crazy idea" written all across my face. "Please tell me you're not going to do anything ridiculous."

"Get well soon, Alexa," I called over my shoulder, already halfway out the door.

I heard her sigh, and knew she was probably rolling her eyes. "Be safe!" she yelled, in what was probably the closest thing I was going to get to her approval.

It wasn't until I was in the common room that I remembered about Miriam. Surprisingly, I found myself excited to see her again. Haylee's latest stunt had put everything in perspective, finally making me able to fully forgive her. _Maybe she'll even want to come with me… That would be nice, to have some company on this crazy quest._

I threw open the door to my room, expecting to see Miriam sitting on my bed, or at the window seat. There would be questions, of course, and I prepared myself to answer them.

But no one was there.

* * *

><p>"Let's see… am I forgetting anything?" I spun in a little circle around myself, doing one last sweep of my room to see if I'd remembered everything important.<p>

Since arriving back to an empty room, I'd kept myself busy scouring the room for anything I might need on this crazy journey, all the better not to think of Miriam. The little hole in my heart where her name used to be had definitely gotten larger, but I refused to think about it. _This is obviously who she is. If things get tough, she runs away. Better you come to terms with it now than spend forever waiting around hoping she'll change._

Nothing truly lessened the sting, but it was a valiant effort; no one could deny that.

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen off my desk, I scribbled down a vague note for my friends. They'd surely be ready to kill me by the time I got back, but I didn't have time to wait around to explain things to them and have them try to talk me out of this. I had to go, now, before I burned up from the sheer anxiety. None of them would understand how I felt, which was why I had to do it like this.

_Feels like I'm always keeping something from them these days, or shutting them out… When did it get like this?_

I shook my head. Things would get back to normal – as soon as I got rid of Haylee.

Dropping the note on the coffee table, I had one hand on the door handle when it suddenly swung open from the other side, revealing just about the last person I'd have expected to see.

"Thank goodness I caught you," he said, sounding a little out of breath.

"Ryan?" I gaped. "What in the realms are you doing here?"

He stayed in the threshold, leaning against the side of the wall. "Alexa called me, said something about you being about to do something stupid. For the record, since when are you two suddenly all chummy?" He eyed me suspiciously.

I sighed. "It's… a long story. And you still haven't answered my question. _Why_ did you rush all the way over here from Red Fountain? To try and talk me out of it?"

"That's probably what she wanted me to do," he admitted. "But I know you better than she does, which is why I know there's no talking you out of something once you get it in your mind to do it, when your will is strong enough. And judging from what she told me about what just happened at Alfea, I'm guessing your will is pretty damn strong." I just nodded, amazed that Ryan understood me so completely. For maybe the millionth time, I realized how lucky I was to have someone like him. "So I'm coming with you."

_That_ caught my attention. "Say _what_?"

"You heard me. I'm coming with you. To protect you, to watch your back, to make sure you come back in one piece." I opened my mouth, but he didn't give me a second to get a word in edgewise. "I know you're strong, but I also know that whatever you're going to do is undoubtedly dangerous, or Alexa wouldn't have freaked out. And if anything happened to you, I would never be able to forgive myself. So it's your choice. You can either take me with you, or I'm getting your friends and Ms Faragonda involved in this and then you'll never get to go."

I sighed. This was new, him being so stubborn. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't at least a little bit hot. (Okay, more than a little…) Besides, it would be nice to have some company, and having someone trained in non-magical combat couldn't hurt either (who knew what we'd encounter?). "Okay. You can come."

"I'm serious! Don't think I won't do it, because I totally wi– Did you just say okay?" Ryan looked shocked, like he hadn't expected me to actually say yes.

"Yeah, I did. Don't make me regret it, okay?" I took a step forward and pressed my body against him, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne. "Mmm… I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world to have you around." He took the hint and reached down to kiss me, a kiss that only reinforced the feeling that I had made the right choice. If nothing else, it would be nice to spend more time with Ryan. In all the chaos surrounding my life lately, he'd somehow slid down on my list of priorities, which was just not right.

"So what exactly are you going to do?" he asked, when we finally pulled apart.

"I'm going to find Haylee's mother – to get some answers."

To his credit, he just took it all in stride. "And how exactly are you going to do that? Do you even know where she is?"

"Erm… that would be a no," I admitted sheepishly. Quickly, I added, "I'll figure out something. For now, I just need to get out of Magix. I feel like I'm going to suffocate in here."

He nodded, then stepped back and let me out the door. We'd barely gone five steps down the hall when a blond figure appeared in front of me seemingly out of nowhere.

"Emma?" I blinked, wondering what the girl from Delora could possibly want from me. "Um, now's really not a good time…"

"I know," she said hurriedly, reaching a hand out to my arm, "but this is important. You're leaving Alfea, right? On some kind of quest to find the mother of your crazy half sister?"

My mouth went dry. "How… How did you know all that? Did Alexa say something?" Even as the words left my mouth, I knew that couldn't be it; she knew too many details for it to have been Alexa. I started to get the tiniest bit suspicious.

Emma shook her head. "I've got rudimentary mind-reading powers; comes with the whole 'fairy of emotions' gig. Kind of a lame power source, if you ask me." She made a face. "Anyways, I try not to use them on classmates, but you're always looking so depressed, and I know you've been through a lot, so I sometimes scan you just to see if there's anything I could do to help, and, well, I picked up on that. Sorry for the invasion of privacy; I promise I won't do it again." She pressed her lips together and nodded several times, eyes wide and innocent.

I sighed, unable to find a reason to truly be mad at her. "Well if you've read my mind, you should know better than to talk me out of it. And I'm sure your whole mind-reading shtick would come in handy, but I'm not taking you with me. This one's enough dead weight." I squeezed Ryan's bicep, laughing to make sure he knew I was teasing.

She shook her head. "I'm not going to talk you out of it. And I don't want to come with you. I just want to help you, in any way I can."

"…Will you get to the point?" I felt a little bad about snapping at her, but I was starting to lose my patience with all these detours.

She leaned in close, her voice dropping a couple registers. "I know how you can find her."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: ...I'm back! I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long, but admit it: this was worth it. ;-)<strong>

**So... yeah. _Lots_ of crazy stuff went down this chapter. What did y'all think? Were you disappointed that Miriam disappeared before we got to see too much of her again? (Hint: I'm not finished with her just yet. She _is_ coming back, but not the way you'd expect...) Is the newfound friendship between Alyssa and Alexa genuine, and do you all actually care? How about Alyssa's split-second decision to go after _Icy_ - do you think she's going to find what she's looking for? And what do you think of Emma, now that she's served her purpose?**

**I'm on a roll, which means updates should come in short order. But if you want to read more faster, you know what to do... There's plenty of stuff to talk about now, isn't there?**

**_Au revoir, mes amis_!**

**- Authoress**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Remind me again why we're on _Earth_ of all places?" Ryan asked, struggling to keep up with me.

"Because Emma said it's here," I responded, not slowing my pace at all. He finally had to grab my shoulders and physically stop me, spinning me around to face him.

"Are you sure you trust this Emma girl? I mean, we're on _Earth_. This place hasn't had magic in who knows how long."

"I don't know, but it's all we've got. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather believe there's a chance we might actually be able to do this, than just flounder around the dimension without a clue." I tried to yank myself free of his grip, but he was too strong.

"Whoa there, 'Liss, calm down. The world's not going to end if you don't find it in the next five minutes. We are going to find her, and you're going to get your answers. You need to relax."

I sighed, as he kissed my forehead. "What would I do without you, Ry?"

He cracked a grin. "I don't know." That earned him a playful punch in the arm, and then a kiss 'to make it better.' "Okay. So tell me again how we're supposed to find this mythical library."

"Emma said I'd know it when I felt it." _Fat lot of help that was,_ I couldn't help think bitterly, even though without the blond girl's help, we'd be even farther from finding Isabella than we already were.

According to Emma, there was a secret spell library in London with something called a person-finder, that would let you locate any person in the universe. Of course, she'd neglected to give us any other details than that, which was why Ryan and I had spent the last three hours walking up and down and around every cobblestone street in the city, ducking into any building that looked even remotely like it could be the place. But London was a very big city, and it wasn't exactly like we could ask for directions, so all we had to show for our searching was a big fat nothing.

Ryan frowned. "Maybe… she didn't know what she was talking about," he started hesitantly.

"No," I snapped impatiently. "I refuse to believe that."

"It doesn't mean we have to cut our losses and go home," he was quick to add. "Just… maybe we should go back to a planet that actually has magic. I bet there's a person-finder in some other spell library as well."

But in my gut, I knew there wasn't. Emma was quirky, but she wouldn't have led me this far astray as a practical joke. There was something in London that could help me find Haylee's mom. And I was not about to leave until I found it. "I know you probably think I'm crazy, Ry, but I can _feel_ it. There's something magical in this city. And it's not like we have any other ideas of where to go. I want to stay, and keep searching. And I'm going to whether you're with me or not." My jaw set stubbornly almost of its own volition.

Ryan sighed. "I'm with you, 'Liss." He opened his mouth to say more, then stopped. "What the hell, right? I mean, this is a pretty nice city. And I can think of worse people to be here with than my gorgeous girlfriend." He snuggled me close, sending shivers down my spine.

Unlike the last time I'd come to Earth – when I'd also come to London, I couldn't help but remember – it was slightly warmer, not being the middle of winter and all. Of course for London, that just meant there wasn't any snow; it was still blustery, cold, and gray. Anywhere else might have looked depressing, but not London; there was something about the ancient-looking architecture and winding streets leftover from bygone eras that made even the dreary weather seem intriguing and mysterious.

_If I could believe that any city on Earth still has magic, it's London_.

"So hey," Ryan said as we started walking again, "what's this about you burying the hatchet with Alexa?" He gave me a skeptical look.

I bit my lip, having forgotten about that completely. While I'd eventually caved and told him about the mentoring sessions, it was nothing but more complaining – about the way she harped on me, made me feel about two feet tall, never tried to help me do what I was supposed to do… He hadn't been there; to him, from the outside, it would seem more than a little questionable that she was suddenly caring about my well-being.

"We had this enormous fight the other day, and Faragonda put us on in-school suspension until we worked out our issues. And… we kind of did." I slid my hand into his, staring into his bright blue eyes. "Did you know… about her mom?"

He looked startled for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I met her not long after it happened. She was so young, but so determined; a real force of nature. Fragile as hell, but you'd never know it unless she let you in far enough to see it, which in those days was very few people." He barked a laugh. "Who am I kidding; still is. I don't think even her own dad knew just how much she was hurting." There was something in his eyes that made my breath catch. "Eventually she mellowed out a bit, but it took a while. I always felt so bad for her, having to go through all that. My family's dysfunctional, but at least we're all still alive."

For the first time, I realized how far back Ryan's relationship with Alexa went, even deeper roots than I'd imagined. And yet he'd still listened to me talk about her like she was the spawn of Satan, never saying a word. _He is officially the best boyfriend ever._

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a familiar storefront, and ground to a halt as something tickled the back of my mind. _What are the odds…?_

"What is it? Did you find the library?"

I didn't answer him, too busy taking in every detail of the miniscule building. Everything was exactly the same, right down to the swirling, Edwardian-style cursive over the door reading _Preserved Memories_.

Ryan made a face. "A vintage clothing store? Come on, 'Liss, let's go." He tugged at my arm, but I remained where I was, frozen in place by an unmistakable sensation.

Tingles… like magic.

_You'll know it when you feel it._

"Alyssa, what are you doing?" he snapped, knocking my hand away as it reached for the door. "We don't have time for this."

"Yes we do," I insisted, pressing my weight against the knob and turning it quickly, before he had a chance to protest. He huffed, slipping through the door before it closed, the bell overhead jingling to announce our presence.

Inside, everything was exactly as I remembered it, right down to the selection of vintage fashion magazines on the wrought-iron end table. Miriam had been with me last time, I remembered with a pang; she'd turned up her nose at the idea of pre-worn clothes, and plopped right down into that faded orange velvet armchair. My fingers curled up into my palms, as a wave of memories almost painful in their intensity surged up inside of me.

Ryan took a few steps around the ridiculously tiny space, wrinkling his nose at the scent of lavender combined with something slightly musty, like old attics. That was still exactly the way I remembered it too. "Okay, 'Liss, you've had your fun. Now can we _please_ go back to searching for that library?"

He was clearly irritated, although he'd never admit to it, good guy that he was. For a moment, I realized just how exhausted he looked; how tired I should have been. It had been an extremely long day, especially with the time difference between Magix and Earth, and I'd been through even more than Ryan had since waking up this morning. But as impossible as it seemed, I didn't feel even the slightest bit worn out. If anything, it was like I had suddenly gotten a second wind, accessed a fresh store of energy.

It made no sense, which was precisely why I knew that magic had to be involved. And where there was magic in London, there had to be the person-finder.

"Hello?" My heart skipped a beat at the sound of a woman's voice. From behind a thick red velvet curtain at the back of the store, an older woman with short blond hair appeared. "Pardon me, I was on the phone…" She trailed off, looking at me thoughtfully. "Say, you look awfully familiar, young lady. Maybe it's my old age – and I apologize if it is – but have you ever been here before?"

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. It was the same saleswoman that had helped me last time – Marianne, I thought her name was. I would have known her voice anywhere. She'd been so… peculiar, I recalled; lighting up when I said something had 'drawn me in', bringing out that green dress from the back special for me, seeming like she knew more than she reasonably should have… I'd written it all off as old age back then, but now, I wasn't so sure.

"I… yes, I have been here," I said finally, stuttering over some of the words. "You sold me an evening dress for my birthday party, almost a year ago. My name's Alyssa. You remember me?"

"Of course I do, child!" She crossed the distance between us and grabbed my hands in hers, filling my nose with the scent of lavender. "Those eyes of yours are hard to forget." I blushed irrationally. "Forgive me, but I always hoped I'd see you again. There's just something about you that I don't see in most of the people that come in here." There she went again with that cryptic nonsense, but it didn't bother me as much as it clearly bothered Ryan, who was hovering by the doorway, shifting his weight anxiously from side to side.

Marianne's eyes slid past me to rest on him. "And who's this young man? He must be a trooper, to allow himself to be dragged along on a shopping trip." She winked conspiratorily at him, but he didn't loosen up, crossing his arms over his chest impatiently.

_Be nice,_ I mouthed, shooting him a look over my shoulder. He sighed and shook his head. "This is my boyfriend Ryan. And actually, this isn't a shopping trip; we're kind of…" I struggled to find the right words, still unsure how much I could tell this strange woman– "searching for something."

"Oh, but there's always time to take a look around, isn't there? You never know what you might find when you're not looking for it." Then without asking me, she grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards a tiny glass case of jewelry near the cash register. Ryan gave me a pointed look, then rolled his eyes and dropped down into the orange chair.

"We really should be going soon," I said, trying to extricate myself from her surprisingly tight grip. "It was so nice to see you again, this place is lovely, but it's been a long day and I think Ryan's had enough…"

"He's a good boy, that one," she said, as if I hadn't said a word (and said 'good boy' wasn't sitting not even five feet away, pretending he didn't hear us). "A real keeper. Make sure you hold onto him now." Then, without warning, she switched topics, her berry-stained lips curling up into a teasing smile. "Say, whatever happened to that blond friend of yours? The one who didn't like vintage clothes?"

I swallowed hard. "She… transferred to another school," I invented, the lie slipping awkwardly off my tongue. "So I don't see her very much anymore."

"Did you two have a fight?" she asked, ducking behind the case and unlocking one of the sliding glass doors.

"Something like that."_ Why does she care?_ I wondered.

Marianne clucked her tongue, reaching into the jewelry case to pull out a red velvet drawer. "I wouldn't give up on her just yet if I were you. Maybe you don't know the whole story. She seemed like a good egg, from what I saw."

I pursed my lips, about to call her out on the blatant impropriety of her trying to give me advice on my life, when she abruptly reached for my wrist, manicured nails on my skin startling me out of my thoughts. I looked down to see her focused on my charm bracelet, which I hadn't even remembered putting on this morning. "That's a beautiful bracelet," she said, lifting my arm up and twisting it slightly to see all the charms.

"It was a birthday present," I offered, happy to be off the subject of Miriam.

"You know what would look absolutely perfect on it? This." She plucked something slim and gold off the velvet draping and, before I could tell her not to, attached it to a free link on the bracelet.

I held my arm up to my eye to examine her new addition. It was a slender gold key, the head of which was studded with a tiny pearl and had small feathered angel wings branching off of it. Very pretty, but… "I'm sorry," I said, reaching to unclasp it. "I'm really not in the market for jewelry right now."

"Nonsense! That charm was _made_ for your bracelet. I couldn't possibly sell it to anyone else now that I've seen it on you. Take it – I insist. It's a gift." She smiled warmly at me, her golden-brown eyes twinkling like she knew something I didn't. Inexplicably, I thought of Emma, whose eyes were the same color, and had looked just like that when she ambushed me in the hallway.

But before I could think too long on that train of thought, Marianne's eyes drifted to the old-fashioned cuckoo clock in the corner and she let out a startled yelp. "Oh my. It's later than I thought." She quickly shoved the velvet tray back into the jewelry case and pulled the door shut, stepping out from behind the counter and heading towards the door. "I know this is terribly unprofessional of me, but would you mind watching the store for me for just one minute? I promised my niece I'd pick up her birthday cake from this bakery around the corner, and they close at seven on Fridays." Before I had time to open my mouth, she was already halfway out the door. "Thank you ever so much!"

I closed my mouth, realizing I couldn't very well say no now, especially not after she'd given me the charm (regardless of the fact that I hadn't exactly wanted it, a gift was still a gift). Ryan, however, had other ideas. The second she closed the door behind her, he looked up at me and said, "Can we please go now? You got what you came here for." He stared almost derisively at the charm on my wrist.

"That's just it, Ry," I said, walking over to perch on the arm of his chair. "I _didn't_." I ran my fingers almost roughly through my hair a few times, trying to figure out how I could have been so wrong about this place.

It just made no sense. I'd felt the tingles… and Marianne, with her cryptic comments… I wanted to scream. This _couldn't_ be another dead end. It just couldn't. What felt like the beginning of tears stung the corners of my eyes, unbidden.

"Oh, 'Liss," Ryan said, pulling me down onto his lap. His tone was considerably softer, which I figured meant he had seen the tears; even still, I blinked and shut my eyes tightly, trying to force them back. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just tired." His fingers started tracing little circles on the back of my neck soothingly. "You really thought this might have been it, didn't you?" I nodded, feeling unable to speak for fear of setting off the waterworks. "I think this is a sign that we've done enough for today. Let's check into a hotel somewhere nearby and keep searching tomorrow. We'll both be more clear-headed with some food and a good night's sleep."

Inhaling deeply, I opened my eyes, pleasantly surprised to find the tears had subsided. "That sounds nice," I admitted, sliding one hand up to cup his cheek. "Thank you, Ryan," I said softly, tracing one finger along the line of his jaw. "I really don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."

"You know I'd do anything for you, Alyssa." My eyes slid closed for an entirely different reason as he kissed me, a kiss that started out chaste but quickly grew into something deeper, something that ignited fireworks in my stomach. I was breathless when he finally pulled back, staring at me with a mischievous smile playing across his lips. "So how soon can I get you to that hotel room?"

"Ryan!" I laughed, slapping him playfully on the arm. My heart fluttered in my chest. We'd never actually talked about this, but… Would he expect me to… Did I _want_ to…?

"Let's wait for Marianne to get back," I insisted, hoping I didn't sound as flustered as I felt. "It's the least I can do, since she did give me that charm for free, and sold me my birthday dress last year at an incredible markdown."

"So this is where you got that, eh?" His eyes danced. "Maybe I should've been more appreciative of this place, then." My heart skipped a beat as he leaned in to kiss me again.

There was no denying that I loved kissing Ryan, but… would I be ready if he wanted to go further? And if I wasn't, how did I tell him that without hurting his feelings? I started to wish I'd talked to one of the other girls about this. Lola, for sure, would know how to handle this kind of situation; or even Alexa, with her wonderful advice-giving powers. _Although on second thought, maybe I wouldn't want to go to Alexa for this. _Way_ too awkward, considering everything…_

I felt a sharp sort of tugging on my wrist, like someone was trying to yank me somewhere. "Um, Ry?" I asked, reluctantly breaking the kiss. "Was that you?"

"Was what me?" he asked, looking as confused as I felt. "What are you talking about?"

"Something was just pulling on my wrist." I looked down, as if expecting to see another person's hand, but there was nothing. For curiosity's sake, I lifted my wrist, wondering if maybe one of the charms had somehow caused that unexpected pain. But everything looked normal.

"That was weird." I shrugged, letting my wrist drop back down onto my lap. "Now, where were we…?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something fluttering, and abruptly I snapped my wrist up to eye level, startling poor Ryan who was leaning in for another kiss. "What the hell?" he exclaimed.

"Shh!" I hissed, pressing my finger against his lips. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" He shifted uncomfortably. "'Liss, you're tired. Whatever you think you saw was probably just your brain playing mind games. Further reason why _we_ _should_ _go_," he emphasized pointedly.

I sighed, climbing off his lap and straightening my clothes. "Alright, you win. Whoa!" Without warning, I pitched forward, nearly hitting the ground.

"Are you okay?" I heard Ryan ask from behind me, but I tuned him out, focusing on my bracelet. There, as clear as could be, was the key charm Marianne had given me, its wings unmistakably beating back and forth, producing a low, almost impatient sort of humming sound.

I inhaled sharply. "Ry, look at this," I exclaimed, in a higher pitched voice than normal. The key gave another low hum, then yanked me forward again, this time sending me sprawling across the floor almost to the far wall of the store.

"Unbelievable," he said, offering a hand down to help me up. "So you were right all along?"

A wide smile crept across my face. "It looks like I was." Getting to my feet, I stared down at the key. "I'll go where you want me to, but be _careful_ with me, alright?"

As if it actually understood me, the wings started beating slower, and I held my wrist out in front of me, like it was another person I was letting lead me. When it tried to drag me through the velvet curtain, though, I hesitated. "Should we be going back there?" I asked Ryan over my shoulder.

"Do you want to find this thing or not?" He stepped forward and yanked aside the curtain, all but pushing me through. I stumbled slightly, before letting the key continue to lead me.

It kept going for another few feet, guiding me through a mess of dust and old clothes in the back of the store, before it gave a growling sort of whine, then ceased to beat and dangled back down next to its fellow charms. I halted, confused, before I saw the door.

It was entirely out of place in this decidedly modern-looking building – enormous, arched at the top, and made of a solid-looking thick dark wood with an ornate gold handle. The knob had a keyhole in it, and I bit my lip, until I remembered how we'd gotten here in the first place. On a closer examination, the keyhole did look small enough to fit. Taking a chance, I awkwardly (since the charm was still on my wrist) twisted the key into the lock.

When it let out a soft _click_, I think I stopped breathing.

I hadn't realized it until just then, but I'd kind of had expectations as to what this hidden library would look like – something maybe sort of like the Alfea library, with its dark wood paneling and a real fireplace that actually got used during the winters. Big enough to store lots of important information, but still warm and cozy feeling. But whatever I'd imagined, it was nothing compared to the reality.

I took a few tentative steps forward, craning my neck to take in everything. The room was enormous and circular. A high, domed ceiling made entirely of glass set the entire room awash in the blue-violet light of the outside sky. Strangely enough, although I couldn't see any other light sources, it didn't feel dark or creepy (the light was bright enough to see by, in a cool, sort of eerie way), just quiet and still, like we were the first people to have come in here in a long time.

We were currently on a sort of balcony level, which was lined all the way around with shelves the same pale blue color as the walls, making the dark, leather-bound books on them stand out even more. But from the little I could see of the bottom floor, there were seemingly dozens upon dozens more shelves; several football fields worth, at least. I started to wonder how far underground this place spread, and what kind of magic was used to keep it concealed from all the ordinary people in London (seriously, how could you hide something like this in the back of a tiny little vintage shop?).

"This… is insane," I said finally, taking a few more steps out of the doorway and into the library proper. "That something like this exists, on _Earth_ of all places… I wonder how many people know that it's here? And Marianne – she obviously knows about it, and magic… Are there more like her? More Earth-bound magic users, just in hiding? Why hasn't anyone done anything to help them?"

"As fascinating as all of that is, don't we have more important things to worry about right now?" Ryan was already heading towards the large sweeping staircase. "Come on; I'll bet you anything that the person-finder's down there."

Silently, I followed him down through the maze of shelves to a corner alcove that held a gold podium with something tall and gold spiraling out of the center, like an enormous, twisting piece of DNA. Carefully, I stepped forward and placed my hand on the podium, letting out a soft gasp of surprise when the golden surface warped and mutated to form something like a keyboard, as if what I'd thought was solid metal was liquid water, fluid and pliable. I hesitated, pulling my hand back, but nothing happened.

"Go on, enter her name." Ryan nudged me gently from behind.

Slowly, my fingers trailed across the keys, picking out the letters to write ISABELLA DIGIACOMO, which hung in glowing blue letters above us. When the last letter had been entered, I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen.

At first, there was nothing but silence, and I worried that we'd come all this way only for the damn thing not to work. Then, slowly, the double helix started to twist, the upper part seeming to disappear into the ceiling as more rose from the ground to take its place. As I watched, captivated, one of the links glowed with a faint blue light, and the movement abruptly stopped; then a shimmering blue screen of the same kind of light replaced her name, words scrawling themselves across it as fast as the eye could see.

I stared at the screen without really seeing the words there, too overwhelmed by the fact that it had worked at all. _I can't believe this. I really did it…_

"Well what do you know?" Ryan's voice came from behind me, startling me out of my thoughts. "She's on Earth."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I've recently had a surge of inspiration and interest in this story (maybe because now it's like my only project), so updates should come in short order from now on. And yes, we are closing in on the end here - like its predecessors, What's Left of Me is set to be fifteen chapters.<strong>

**So what did y'all think? How many of you ever expected to see Marianne again? (For anyone with a memory problem, she was in What's Past is Prologue, ch. 9.) I can't quite recall if I knew from the second I invented her in that I was going to use her again, but I definitely did write her in WPIP intending for her to be connected with magic somehow, and for that connection to come back in the 3rd book.**

**I know some of you were probably expecting to see Icy, and I'm sorry to disappoint. She's in the next chapter, I promise! And to Akela Victoire, who expressed concern for Alyssa's safety... well, you'll see what I mean when I say our girl's got nothing to fear there - physically, at least. (I make no promises about mentally or emotionally. *evil laugh*)**

**Don't forget to hit the Review button on your way out, please!**

**Lator, gators!**

**- Authoress**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"I don't like this, Ry," I said nervously, pressing myself against him for a feeling of security. "This is definitely not what I was expecting when it said she was on Earth."

Back in London, I'd used the money I'd taken out of my account back in Magix to get us a room in a nearby cheap hotel. The exhaustion took its toll quickly, and we both collapsed within an hour of checking in (me secretly grateful that there was no more talk of… ahem, _romance_). Then bright and early the next morning, with the help of a portal-creating device I'd swiped from Dee's desk (desperate times called for desperate measures), it was off to central Italy, where the person-finder had said Haylee's mom lived.

Except I was starting to think that I'd grabbed a defunct device.

"I agree," Ryan said, clutching me tighter as a horse-drawn cart rolled by, completely oblivious to the people on the streets. Or maybe it was the people that were the oblivious ones; oblivious to the fact that a horse-drawn cart did not belong in this century.

The village of Nascosto, at the base of the mystical and myth-ridled Sibillini Mountains, looked like something out of a time warp. The buildings in the main 'downtown' were made of light cream-colored bricks and red-shingled roofs, roughly squished together, with rough-hewn wood doors and simple windows. There were dirt roads but not a single car, although there were plenty of horses and yes, a few horse-drawn carts and carriages. Outdoor market stalls with vendors hawking fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole gutted fish were at every turn, and clothes hung on drying lines draping across alleyways. Farther back from the main square, on green-pastured hillsides, were more little houses, and what looked suspiciously like farms. Everyone was wearing old-fashioned-looking clothes in plain colors made from simple, hand-woven cloth, and I'd yet to see a single girl wearing pants, which made me feel glaringly conspicuous in my skinny jeans, ballet flats, and turquoise wrap top.

London had a sort of glamour to its grittiness, in the echoes of a time long since past, but this was just… uncomfortable. And the _last_ place I'd ever have expected to find a magic user on Earth.

I bit my lip when I realized that this meant Haylee had grown up here. Anyone I passed now on the street could have known her as a little girl, could be able to tell me what she had been like, help me understand her. But trying to picture Haylee here just made me shudder; it was too impossible of an image to reconcile in my mind.

_No wonder she left, if this is what she was escaping from…_

With a start, I was pulled out of my thoughts and reminded that we weren't here to sight-see. After boosting my Italian with a quick translation spell, I tapped the shoulder of a kind-looking blond woman wearing a full-skirted dress with an apron tied around her waist. "_S__ì? Che cosa vuoi_?"

I fumbled awkwardly, unsure how well the translation spell worked in the opposite way. "_Scusi. Siamo alla ricerca di qualcuno. Potete aiutarci?_"

The woman's face broke into a friendly smile, and I breathed an inward sigh of relief. As long as I didn't try to say anything too complicated, there shouldn't be any problems. "_S__ì__, naturalmente_," she replied. "_Chi stai cercando?_"

"_Lei si chiama Isabella DiGiacomo_."

The warm, open smile on her face froze, then replaced by a look of mingled concern and horror. All the conversations around us stopped as the other people reacted the same way, eyes wide and mouths slightly open or lips pursed. A cold shiver crept down my back. Briefly, I wondered if I'd accidentally said "a prostitute named Isabella DiGiacomo" or something to the like.

Finally, the blond woman recovered her voice, but when she spoke, her mouth was set in a thin, hard line as she shook her head. "_Mi dispiace. Non posso…_" Abruptly, she turned away from me, speaking rapidly to her friends in Italian, who jabbered right back at such a break-neck pace that I couldn't keep up even with the translation spell. Straining to hear for a moment, I only managed to catch the word _strega_ – witch. That feeling like ice cubes sliding down the back of my shirt increased.

"What was that about?" Ryan said, taking my arm and tactfully steering me away from the conversing women.

"I don't know," I said, desperate for the relief from their prying eyes, looking at me like I had some kind of fatal disease or something. As if I hadn't been nervous enough about meeting Haylee's mother… "Do you think we'll get the same reaction anywhere else we ask?"

"_Siete alla ricerca di Isabella DiGiacomo_?" The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and was sharp-edged, definitely younger than the women I'd just left gasping and tittering. I looked up to see a tall, slender girl standing in front of me, with pin-straight almond-brown hair falling around her tiny shoulders. Blunt-cut bangs just brushed her eyebrows, above warm green eyes accented with wing-tipped liquid black eyeliner and mascara. Her clothes were like a breath of fresh air: ripped jeans tucked into knee-high boots, and a leather jacket over a black T-shirt with the name of some Italian band scrawled across it. She looked about nineteen or twenty; the same age, I realized with a jolt, as Haylee.

"_S__ì_," I said, struggling to sound intelligent. "_La conosci_?"

The girl hesitated, then nodded. "I know of her," she said, and with her lilting Italian accent it took me a moment to see through the translation spell and realize that she had spoken English. "You are Americans, no?" I nodded; it wasn't like I could tell her the truth, after all. "Come with me. I know a place where we can talk in private."

She started cutting her way through the throng – a stark figure in her modern clothes – never looking back to see if we were following her. I paused, uncertain whether or not to trust this random girl. Being foreigners in a strange country (strange _planet_, not that anyone would know _that_) made us easy marks, and even with Ryan to protect me, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go running off with the first stranger who beckoned.

But she hadn't cowered in fear at Haylee's mom's name, had specifically sought us out and offered to help. And so far she was looking like the only one who would. (Besides, if worst really came to worst, I did have the upper hand, though I shuddered at the idea of using my powers on a non-magic user.)

We ended up in what appeared to be the back room of a bakery (at least, that's what I thought it was, judging by the amazingly sweet smells coming from it). The mysterious girl was grabbing glasses from shelves built into the walls, and she turned around when she heard us come in, gesturing for us to sit down at a rustic wood-block table with what looked suspiciously like old crates for chairs. "Please, sit," she said, reaching for a pitcher of something. "You must be thirsty from those dusty roads. I know they always get me whenever I come back."

All I could do was nod my assent as she poured tall glasses of what looked like lemonade, setting down a plate of chocolate-dipped biscotti cookies before she finally sat down herself. Her nails were self-manicured in jet black polish, and there was a silver ring on her right index finger. A scrollwork tattoo in black ink snaked around her wrist like a bracelet. She looked like the kind of girl Haylee might've been friends with, I thought, if Haylee had even had friends in this strange, archaic place.

I cut the translation spell, since it was apparent that this girl spoke fluent English. "I'm Alyssa, and this is my boyfriend Ryan." Ryan looked up from the cookies long enough to say a quick hello. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I still don't believe I know your name."

"My apologies," she said, taking a sip from her glass. "My name is Allegra, and I grew up here in Nascosto. My parents own this bakery, in fact."

"I had a feeling." I broke off a piece of one of the cookies and was unsurprised to find it was delicious. "I hope you don't find me rude, considering this is your place of birth, but…"

"Why does it look like nothing's changed here since the nineteenth century?" She laughed. "Nascosto means 'hidden' in Italian, and this place sure does a fine job of living up to its name." Her sly, mocking tone suddenly changed to something more serious and contemplative. "After the second Great War, there were many people who thought that modern civilization and industrialization had brought nothing but death and sorrow. Their solution was to build a place where none of that would be allowed to exist, where life could be simpler and easier again like it used to be. And all these years later, there are still those – like my parents, for example – who prefer this way of living."

"But you don't."

The teasing smile was back. "I'm hardly the first to choose to live in the world the way it is. We're not like the Amish that way, even though it seems like that; once you turn eighteen, you're free to leave with no stigma. Almost everyone does go off for a few years, experience the modern world. Some do come back, but the majority don't."

"Like Haylee DiGiacomo." Allegra's hand stilled midway between reaching for her glass. "You knew her, didn't you?" I persisted, determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Somewhat," she admitted, wrapping her hand around the glass but not lifting it to her lips. Her playful demeanor had been erased again, and this time I had a feeling it was gone for good. "None of us knew her very well, but we all knew of her. Her and her mother, in that little house of theirs on the hill, where all sorts of nonsense was rumored to go on."

"What kind of nonsense?"

Allegra looked me in the eye. "You have to understand that in a place like this, the line between legend and reality can easily become blurred. Old superstitions still burn brightly here, and from as long as anyone can remember there have been stories of enchantresses in these mountains. Two beautiful females, who keep to themselves and don't interact much with the rest of the population…" She arched an eyebrow. "You saw it for yourself back in the square. The people in this town _love_ to gossip."

_Strega_._ Witch_. The word seemed burned into the back of my mind, and I swallowed hard at the fact that none of these people knew just how right they were. "You don't believe it, do you?" I asked.

"The stories? No. University straightened my head, if there was ever any doubt. But still, there was always something about those two that made me happy to keep my distance. That incident with Elisabetta…" She shivered, her eyes looking very far away. "No one could prove anything, but the rumors flew like crazy. I can't say I was sorry to hear she left." Allegra set her glass down and stared at me curiously. "So, Alyssa, what's your angle here?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you know the lovely Haylee? And why are you so keen to speak to her mother?" By now she was already on her feet, bustling around cleaning up the glasses and plates.

I bit my lip. "I… it's a long story," I said finally, not willing to go into the whole sordid story with this near-stranger, as nice and helpful as she had proved to be. Allegra clucked her tongue, but let it go, although I wasn't sure how long that could last. Taking that as our cue to leave, I tugged on Ryan's arm, getting to my feet. "Thank you for everything, Allegra. You said she lives in a house on the hill?"

"Head back to the main square and keep going straight until the road turns into farmland. You should be able to see it then, and there's something of a path picked out. It's a bit of a hike, though." She hesitated. "And… _buona fortuna_," she said, momentarily slipping back into her native Italian, though I could understand enough to know that it meant 'good luck'. "I think you're going to need it."

All I could do was hope that she was wrong.

* * *

><p>Allegra had been right about the path – it was quite a hike. But standing on the doorstep of a house that literally looked like it was about to crumble into ruins any second, I was too nervous be breathless from the climb.<p>

"Do I just knock on the door?" I wondered, turning around to face Ryan. "What's the protocol here?"

"I don't think there's a 'protocol' for this kind of situation," he said dryly, and I glared at him. "What? You're way too tense, 'Liss. It's going to be fine."

"Famous last words," I muttered under my breath, so he wouldn't hear me. Tentatively, I reached out and knocked on the door, but the hinges were so old and worn that the simple pressure made it give way with a loud _creak_. I winced, instinctively jumping back, but there were no sounds of movement from inside the house.

"…Should I go in?" In response, Ryan gently nudged me forward. I made sure to grip his hand tightly before taking a few tiny steps in the direction of the open door.

"_Chi è là?_" a thin voice called in broken Italian. The sound made my heart beat triple-time. I tilted my head, determining which direction the voice had come from. After a moment there came the sound of a hacking cough, and then it was stronger, allowing me to pinpoint its owner's location. "Haylee? Is that you?" There was a tinge of hope this time.

"Wrong sister."

Isabella let out a soft gasp, eyes widening to an almost impossible degree. "You…" she breathed, looking like she didn't want to believe what she was seeing.

I was almost grateful for her adverse reaction, because it gave me time to inconspicuously gawk at her. She couldn't have been much older than Mom, but her silky-looking hair was silvery-white, streaming out like spirals of smoke. It was long enough to drape across her body like a blanket, which made her seem even smaller, huddled against a wall curled in on herself. Something about the position made me think she had been there for a while. She was slim, but there was an unnatural quality to the jutting angles of her limbs – like she was made of glass, fragile and delicate. Her skin was deathly pale, seemingly leeched of all color, like the ice and snow that she drew her power from. There was nothing of Haylee in her except for those eerie light blue eyes, but while Haylee's always looked cold and vicious, Isabella's almost reminded me of broken glass – like she wasn't quite all there, a shadow of who she used to be.

Altogether, she looked… sad. Broken. Not dangerous at all. If I hadn't had irrefutable proof, I'm not sure I'd have even believed that this woman ever _had_ a child.

"Hello, Isabella." I crossed my arms over my chest as she shivered, seeming to snap out of her disbelieving daze. When she looked up at me, I saw a glimmer of Haylee's defiance in her eyes, and was reminded that as unassuming as she might look, Isabella was still a potential threat.

"Call me Isa," she insisted, her voice a little raspy from disuse. "I never liked the name Isabella." She tilted her head back and propped it up against the wall, eyes narrowing slightly as she gave me a once-over. "Please excuse me if I stare; it's just quite unsettling, seeing the eyes of the man you once loved in the body of the girl you despise."

Shivers raced down my spine at her words. She said all that quite matter of factly; like it was nothing, what she'd basically just flat-out admitted to. For the first time, it really hit me that this woman had slept with Dad. Somehow, in the moment, that unnerved me more than the fact that Haylee was my sister.

A mischievous sort of half smile played across her lips, as the resemblence to her daughter intensified. "Oh relax, Alyssa." Her lips twisted on my name, and I felt another shiver down my back. "I'm not still carrying a torch for Daddy Dearest. _That_ is a flame that was extinguished a long time ago. How is the old bastard, anyways? Still wearing his hair in a ponytail?"

I grit my teeth. She was making fun of me, I knew, trying to get a rise out of me. "He's fine," I managed to get out, determined not to let her see how she'd affected me. "He sends his regards. As does my mother. I'm sure you remember _her_." _Two can play at this game_, I decided.

Her eyes flashed in amusement. "Oh do they, now? I wasn't aware the little princess had permission to be so far from home. What brings you here, to seek me in my humble abode?" She smiled mockingly.

"Quite humble indeed," I muttered under my breath, taking a minute to examine the peeling paint on the walls, the cracked and dirty wood floor with its uneven boards, the lack of furniture or really, anything that would suggest this was someone's _home._ If this was the way Haylee grew up, I could understand part of her anger at me, simply for growing up in a place that wasn't a dirty shack in the middle of nowhere. "But why Earth?" I wondered out loud, turning back to her. "What lure would a place like this have, where magic hasn't existed in thousands of years?"

"You're just like your mother, always sticking her nose where it didn't belong, thinking she knew everything about everybody." Isabella's eyes hardened. "I don't owe you anything, princess of Sparx. If you came here seeking answers, you might as well just turn around and run back to the glass walls of Alfea, where you'll be safe and sound."

"See that's the thing. I think you _do_ owe me something." My hands were trembling, but I clenched them tightly under my arms and stood my ground. "You thought I was Haylee when I came in. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say she didn't leave with your express permission. You want to know what she's been doing? Tracking me down all over Magix and _trying to kill me_." I paused, staring her straight in the eye. "I'm not leaving until I get my questions answered. You can either tell me what I want to know, or we can do this the hard way. Does that sound agreeable, _Isabella_?"

She flinched slightly at my use of her given name, but said nothing, closing her eyes and resting her head against the wall. I waited with bated breath – praying I wouldn't have to somehow follow through on threats that had no actual weight to them – as she opened them slowly, something having changed in them when they met my own again. I pressed forward.

"Let's start easy. You knew about me, didn't you?"

She shrugged. "Guilty as charged. Can't say it came as that much of a shock, although I did wonder how he ever managed to convince her. If you'd seen your parents as teenagers…" She laughed coldly. "Then again, whatever Baltor wanted, he had a way of getting."

There was a coppery tang on my tongue, and only when I unclenched my jaw did I realize that I had bitten the inside of my cheek. _She's cruel and manipulative and deceitful. None of what she implies is true_, I repeated over and over again in my head. "And you told Haylee as she was growing up?" Fragments of ideas were starting to knit themselves together in my mind, spinning and building off each other to paint a picture that would go a long way to explain why Haylee acted the way she did.

"Of course I did. _I_ never lied to my child." The look she gave me stirred up that same disconcerting feeling whenever Haylee alluded to knowing details about my life she really shouldn't have. "I don't know what you expected to find, coming here. Haylee's an independent young woman. What she does with her life is none of my jurisdiction."

"But you can't be happy with her choices." When she didn't sling back another snarky comment, I knew I'd hit a nerve, and kept going. "You wanted something more for her than what your life turned into. You hoped that raising her away from the magical realms, she might have a chance to thrive without the shadow of her parentage following her wherever she went. And then she turns around and walks right back into the life you tried so hard to keep from being hers. That must sting."

Something flickered in her eyes, but it disappeared too quickly for me to catch it. "You've got quite a silver tongue, Alyssa. You get that from your father, of course; Bloom has all the personality of a teacup." I bit my tongue and said nothing. "But even the prettiest of façades cannot disguise what lies beneath the paint and glamour."

My heart skipped a beat at her sudden foreboding tone. Instinctively, I took a step backwards, and she smirked. "The product of such a… tempestuous union as your parents' should never have been allowed to live. You are a danger to yourself and the magical dimension, but all anyone sees when they look at you is just another pretty and delicate _fairy_." She sneered on the last word, as if it were the worst kind of insult imaginable – and coming from her lips that way, it almost felt like one. "You are a creature of darkness. Just like your father; like my daughter and I. It is a part of you that is impossible to hide or deny, but you cannot control it, because there is also a part of you that is fragile and weak and _light_. The combination has never existed before, and so there is no way of knowing the powers you possess, the dangers you could pose. So would I have wanted my daughter to follow in my footsteps?" she continued, never missing a beat. "Of course not. But I cannot condemn her for this. The universe will be a far safer place when _you_ are gone from it." Her chest trembled with exertion – the speech seemed to have taken a good deal of her energy to deliver – but she stared back at me with defiant, challenging eyes, as if daring me to defend myself.

As horrible as her words were, something about them tugged at my mind. Where had I heard this argument before?

_You're an _abomination_, an insult to the greatest magic that ever existed. The magic that runs through your veins is cursed, tainted with darkness like your despicable excuse for a father. You shouldn't even exist, and yet you do._

I shivered as it came to me. _She sounds like Taylor…_

"If you really think I'm such an atrocity to mankind, then why don't you just finish me off right here and now?" I held her stare, banking everything on the hope that my assumption was correct.

My breath caught in my throat as a spark of blue ice-magic flared to life in her fingertips. Fingers gripped my wrist and abruptly yanked me backwards, and I was startled to see Ryan shoving me behind him protectively; I'd almost completely forgotten he was there with me.

The sizzling sensation of magic in the air faded, and I felt Ryan lock his arms in front of my abdomen, pulling me close, but my gaze never left Isabella, who was starting to tremble slightly. Goosebumps traced patterns along her bare arms, although the temperature of the room hadn't changed and I was still perfectly comfortable.

When she opened her mouth again, what sounded like nonsense spilled out, in the same broken voice that had greeted us. "I am tired of tears and laughter, and men that laugh and weep, of what may come hereafter for men that sow to reap. I am weary of days and hours, blown buds of barren flowers, desires and dreams and powers and everything but sleep." Her pale blue eyes, which before had looked merely vacant, now seemed truly unfocused, glazed over, like she was losing control of herself. I had mentally compared her to Taylor earlier, and there was something of the insanity in her eyes, but this was more all-consuming; true madness.

"Come on, 'Liss," I heard Ryan say. "Let's get out of here." He tugged on my wrist, pulling me toward the door.

All I could do was let myself be dragged out of the perilously constructed little house, my eyes never leaving Isabella, who hadn't seemed to notice us leaving. Her body twitched and jerked like she was having a seizure, the jutting bones of her shoulder blades sticking up like bird's wings behind her back, poking through skin as thin and fragile as gossamer. A faint cry escaped her lips as she rocked back and forth, shuddering and shaking.

"Goodbye," I called over my shoulder in some vague vestige of propriety. There was no response, except another thin moan that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Look away, Alyssa," came Ryan's instruction, as if through a fog. I swallowed hard as I obeyed, turning my head to stare into a sky as blue and empty as Isabella's eyes.

* * *

><p>I barely registered the knock on the door, silently tracing Ryan's movements with my eyes as he got up to answer it. "Thank you," he said to someone I couldn't see on the other side, pulling some money out of his pocket and exchanging it for a rolling cart with silver-covered dishes on it. "Good night to you too, sir."<p>

The door closed with a soft _click_, and Ryan wheeled the cart further into the moderate-sized and decently furnished hotel room. Our money had stretched just far enough to get a nice room in the nearest modern town (no way was I about to stay in Nascosto for any longer than I had to). "Come eat, 'Liss," he urged, taking off one of the silver covers to reveal a steaming plate of pasta.

The warm, delicious scent tickled my nose, but didn't elicit any pangs of hunger, even though I hadn't eaten anything all day besides nibbling on those cookies with Allegra. It was the strangest sensation inhabiting my body right now – I was completely _aware_ of everything going on around me, senses all functioning normally, and yet it was like I had lost the connection between external stimuli and internal response.

In my mind, I just kept seeing Isabella's tiny body shaking and twitching, lips spilling nonsense, light blue eyes like a window to the twisted, tortured depths of her soul. She didn't look terrible or threatening; more like a broken toy no one will play with anymore, a puzzle missing pieces that can never be whole again.

How_ can I feel sorry for her? She flat-out admitted she thinks the world would be a better place if I was dead._

_And yet…_

Ryan continued to ramble jovially, uncovering more dishes with his back to me. "I splurged a bit and got a bunch of things – I'm paying, of course, so don't even worry about that – and I'm sure there's no way we can actually eat all of this, but I'm hungry enough to eat an elephant, and what's that Earth saying about 'when in Rome'? Rome is in Italy, isn't it?" He looked up from the food and abruptly the smile slid off his face. "'Liss? Are you alright?"

"I… I don't know," I answered honestly, staring down at my lap.

I felt the bed shift under the weight of another person, and his gentle fingers tilt my chin upwards. "Is this about Isabella?" When I said nothing, he sighed. "You have to talk to me, Alyssa. I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but I can't do anything for you unless you tell me what you're thinking about."

I bit my lip, twisting away from his inquisitive gaze. "You know the saying 'Be careful what you wish for'? That's what this feels like. I wanted answers so badly I ran halfway around the universe, but now I almost think I would've been better off not knowing." _If that's what Haylee grew up with… She had a crappy life, and I got a wonderful one. Maybe she has the right to hate me after all._

Thankfully, Ryan didn't push for me to elaborate; I'm not sure I could've forced the words out of my throat. But instead of going back to the food he'd been so excited about earlier, he reached out and took my hand, interlocking our fingers. "But that's not all you're thinking about, is it, 'Liss?"

I sighed. _I really can't keep anything from him, can I?_ _Not sure whether to be happy I have such a thoughtful and perceptive boyfriend, or annoyed. _"What she said back there, about me being–" my tongue tripped awkwardly over the words "–an abomination… I just can't stop thinking about it." Ryan opened his mouth, undoubtedly to protest, but I cut him off. "I have all this unstable and potentially destructive power that I have no idea how to control. Who knows what I could do with it, even without meaning to? And her argument sounded just like Taylor's." A second after the words had left my mouth I realized that bringing up Taylor probably wasn't the smartest idea, but it was too late to take it back now, so I just kept going, giving voice to all the nasty little suspicions taking root in the back of my mind. "Two different people, unrelated to each other in any way, with the same idea…" My throat tightened. "What if they're right, Ry? What if I shouldn't exist?" I heard my voice crack on the last sentence, and then the dam burst, all the tears I'd spent the whole afternoon keeping at bay gushing out like a waterfall.

"Shhh," he soothed, pulling me into his arms without hesitation. Some very unladylike noises were coming out of my chest, which heaved unnattractively with the exertion of my sobs, and I knew I had to be getting wet stains all over his shirt, but he only pulled me closer, his fingers gently twisting in my hair, tracing patterns along the nape of my neck. For a long time he just held me, letting me cry against his chest, until my breathing was starting to resemble normalcy again. "Don't think for even one second that they're right. Taylor might be my sister, but she's obviously deranged; and there is clearly something _physically_ wrong with Isabella, as we saw. They're not in their right minds, and should never be taken seriously." His words were like a soothing balm on my soul. I hadn't realized until now just how much I'd needed to hear someone say that, to confirm that they were crazy and that I wasn't a freak of nature that needed to be destroyed. (I didn't think too long on what that fact said about my self-esteem…) "You are incredible, Alyssa. You shine. Don't ever let anyone take that away from you."

I sucked in a shaky breath of air. "I… you…" _Thank you, Ryan. Thank you for believing in me when I can't even believe in myself._

"What do you need?" he asked, looking down at me.

I shut my eyes tightly. _What do I need? _"I need… to stop thinking."

He said nothing, cradling me more firmly in his arms and tucking my head under his chin so we fit together like puzzle pieces, the steady sound of his heartbeat lulling me into a state of security. His long, slender fingers reached out and intertwined with my own, the soft touch like a calming drug racing through my veins. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, feeling all the stress of the past few months leave my body, shoulders unclenching for the first time in who knew how long. There was nothing in the universe but Ryan – him and me, in this little hotel room, connected on a deeper level than ever before.

It seemed perfectly natural, then, to carefully reach up and press my lips to his.

At first he hesitated, lips unyielding under my own, but slowly he started to respond. His hands gripped my waist like I was a rescue line keeping him alive in the deep ocean, pulling me against him as he nipped gently at my bottom lip, deepening the kiss. My own hands found themselves fisting in his hair, eventually sliding down to twine around his neck, as a dull ache coiled in the pit of my stomach. _That's new…_

He brought his lips down to the curve of my jaw, planting a line of butterfly kisses along the side of my neck that set my skin on fire. A low, whimpering sort of moan met my ears, and it took me a minute to realize it had come from my own mouth. The feeling in my stomach increased, and I grabbed at the collar of his shirt to pull him down with me, taking the weight of him onto my body as my back melted into the pillowy-soft mattress.

I heard him suck in a breath as my fingers nimbly undid the buttons of his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders and tracing over the defined muscles of his abdomen. We'd been dating for almost three years now, so this wasn't the first time clothes had come off, but there was something about this particular instance that was different. There was an almost frenzied sense of _purpose_ to our actions, like we both knew that this could actually amount to something if we let it. And while a part of me trembled in nervousness, the other, larger part didn't want to stop _feeling_.

His hand on my waist reached tentatively for the bottom of my shirt. I caught his gaze, noticing with curiosity that his eyes were a darker shade of blue than usual. He didn't stop and ask me if I was sure, which I was thankful for, because I just didn't want the moment of severe indecision that would've been. Instead, he reached up to push a piece of hair out of my face, hand trailing down to cup my cheek. "I love you," he said softly, and my breath caught in my throat at the pure, unadulturated love in his eyes.

"I love you too," I whispered back, and then we were kissing again, and it wasn't anything like the kisses we'd shared on dates or the handful of "I-need-a-distraction-from-finals-please-help-me-before-I-die" heavy makeout sessions we'd jumped into over the years never actually expecting to go anywhere dangerous. But – how had I never realized this before? – this _was_ safe, and not scary or big at all. Ryan was my constant, unwavering in the midst of all the chaos that had turned into my life. I loved him, and he loved me.

And the lights were off and the sheets were soft and his body was perfect and I knew this was right… and I just let go. Because right then, nothing else mattered.

Not Haylee, not my parents, not my self-doubts, not anything.

Nothing, nothing, nothing… but how very right this was.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Oh boy, I had soooooo much fun writing this chapter - which partially accounts for why it's so long, because after the scene with Allegra, I just decided to stop caring about the length of this thing and let it go for as long as it needed to. The result being, of course, this monstrosity. But I highly doubt anyone's complaining, are they?<strong>

**So yes, we finally get to see what Icy's been up to for the last twenty years! What'd you think? One thing I dithered over is the lack of explanation for _why_ she's like this, which will definitely be more fully addressed in the Haylee/Icy in-the-works companion piece. For clarity's sake right now, it has to do with my own mythos for the properties of dark magic; basically, because she's been living on Earth and not using her powers, the dark magic is starting to sort of cause her mind to deteriorate. ****The last thing she says is a poetry quote, from "The Garden of Proserpine" by Algernon Charles Swinburne, in case you were wondering.**

**And before anyone asks, I completely made up Nascosto, and the sort of explanation of it. The Sibillini mountains are real, however (and really full of myths about magic) - I think they're in some episode of season 4. The war Allegra refers to is World War II, which we're studying right now and I thought just tied the whole together quite nicely (because I needed a _reason_ for this place to exist, without making it religious like the Amish). And did you guys like Allegra? I ended up really liking her, and I want to use her again, although I'm not sure if I can. The incident she refers to, though - about Elisabetta - will definitely be explained in the companion piece (no promises when that's going up, though, because I'm still debating details having to do with the ending of this).**

**Only three chapters left! Next chapter is the major climax, so be prepared for a battle royale of epic proportions! And I have a little challenge for you all. You see, in ch. 10 there's a little bit of foreshadowing for something major that's going to happen in the next chapter. Please don't guess in your reviews (you know how I hate that, because it spoils it for other people if you get it right), but if you think you have an idea, shoot me a PM and if you're right, I'll send you chapter 13 a day in advance. _Buona fortuna_!**

**Alright, I'm done. Peace out, peoples!**

**- Authoress**

* * *

><p><strong>Translations -<strong>

_S__ì? Che cosa vuoi?_: Yes? What do you want?

_Scusi. Siamo alla ricerca di qualcuno. Potete aiutarci?_: Excuse me. We're looking for someone. Can you help?

_S__ì__, naturalmente. Chi stai cercando?_: Yes, of course. Who are you looking for?

_Lei si chiama Isabella DiGiacomo_: Her name is Isabella DiGiacomo

_Mi dispiace. Non posso…_: I'm sorry. I cannot…

_Siete alla ricerca di Isabella DiGiacomo?_: You are looking for Isabella DiGiacomo?

_S__ì. La conosci?_: Yes. Do you know her?

_Chi è là?_: Who's there?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

It was the sunlight that finally woke me, streaming through the window and nearly blinding me when I opened my eyes. "Ugh," I yawned, closing them again as I twisted away from the direct view, stretching my arms over my head. "Close the curtains…"

"Your wish is my command." I nearly jumped when Ryan's voice met my ears, looking up to see him pulling the curtains across the rod, leaving them open just enough for me to see him clearly. He was wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, his hair in artful disarray (how did he even make bedhead look adorable?), and I caught myself smiling appreciatively at his toned, well-muscled chest.

It took another second for the memories to come back to me, and I blushed irrationally as they did, reaching to wrap myself tightly in the sheets. But then Ryan sat down on the other side of the bed and handed me a mug of something, the look in his eyes like like I was the most beautiful and precious thing he'd ever seen, and my insecurities evaporated like the steam coming off the drink. This was _Ryan_, after all, I reminded myself, taking a sip of something unfamiliair but hot and sweet and delicious that seemed to warm me up from the inside out. There was no need to doubt myself with him. _Besides, he wasn't exactly complaining last night_. A giggle escaped my lips unbidden.

"What're you thinking about, love?" he asked, the knowing smile playing across his own lips telling me he knew exactly what I was thinking about. As if to prove it, he reached over and planted a soft kiss on my lips that had me closing my eyes for an entirely different reason. Tingles danced down my spine, and I forgot all about keeping the sheets around me as I eliminated the last little bit of distance between us, pressing my body against his like I wanted to fold myself inside of him and stay forever.

Only when I felt something wet against my leg did I reluctantly pull back, cheeks burning at the stain spreading rapidly across the pristine white sheets. "Oops," I giggled, setting the mug down on the nightstand. "The housekeeping staff are not going to be happy with us, are they?"

"I think we passed that point a long time ago, 'Liss." He arched an eyebrow, pulling me down against his chest and wrapping his arms around me.

My blush deepened as I surveyed the extent of the damage to what had been a flawlessly made bed when we checked in. It was amazing how once I'd let go of my worries, I hadn't been self-conscious at all. No matter how in-the-moment the decision had been, I knew that I would never regret this as long as I lived. Maybe it wasn't the textbook definition of perfect, but it was close enough for me.

I was surprised to see a more serious look on his face when I looked up again. "You look different. Not anything physical, just sort of… I don't know, relaxed, or something."

I _felt_ relaxed, I realized. For the first time in I couldn't even remember how long I'd slept straight through the night, woken up by external forces rather than my own restless anxiety and tortured imagination. A small smile spread across my lips. "I feel different." Ryan's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything, for which I was grateful. He didn't know that most nights I still woke up in a cold sweat with my heart racing like I'd been running a marathon in my sleep, and I very much wanted it to stay that way.

To keep his attention off my new peace of mind, I reached over and interlocked my fingers with his, leaning my head back on his shoulder. "Thank you, Ry. For coming with me, for keeping me sane, all of it."

"I'd do it all again in a heartbeat." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "You are worth everything to me, Alyssa." My heart did a little happy dance at his words.

After a moment of contented silence, I looked up to see him looking down at my expectantly. "So now where to, fearless leader?" he asked.

"Back to Magix," I said, ignoring the teasing note in his voice as something like a plan started to take shape in my mind. "It's time to end this thing once and for all." In my mind, I could almost see Haylee's icy blue eyes boring into me, and my lips curled into a smirk. _You're not going to intimidate me any more, sis._

Ryan got a mischievous look in his eyes. "You're sexy when you get all determined like that." I giggled as he suddenly pushed me down onto the mattress, a devilish smile lighting up his face as he hovered over me, bringing back more memories of the night before and how exactly the sheets got to be in such disarray.

"What are you… Mmm," I sighed, my eyes sliding closed as his lips burned a path down the side of my neck, fisting my hands in the white sheets that were going to be far from pristine once we got through with them.

"I love you," he whispered, and my entire body shuddered as my back seemed to arch of its own accord, a low moan escaping my throat from the sensations he was drawing out of me like a moth to a flame.

Haylee could wait a little longer.

* * *

><p>"Is it just me, or is something not right here?"<p>

"It's not just you." Ryan had his hands shoved into his pockets as he shifted his weight anxiously, looking more than a bit uncomfortable. I couldn't blame him, though; so was I.

The streets of Magix were completely empty. Not just slow-day-at-the-shops empty, or thunder-and-lightning, make-everyone-stay-home-rainstorm empty, but_ deserted_. Ominous gray clouds covered the sky, and a cold breeze blew past, kicking up bits of litter left on the streets like ghosts floating in the wind.

We could have been the only two people left in the universe.

"Where could everyone have gone?" I took a tentative step towards one of the shop windows, pressing my fingertips to the glass and peering inside. The lights were off and there wasn't a single sign of life, like the place had been closed for months. But I'd just been here with Lola and the others last weekend.

"I don't like this, 'Liss," he said, rubbing his forearms for warmth. "Let's just hightail it back to Alfea. I bet you anything Faragonda knows what's going on."

I frowned, even though his plan was a smart one, and was just about to open my mouth – to say what, I'm not quite sure – when I heard a sound that gave me goosebumps. It was somehow rough like sandpaper and slithery like a snake at the same time, and before I knew what I was doing, I was grabbing Ryan's arm and pulling him into the nearest alley.

"'Liss, what in the realms are you–"

"Shh!" I pressed a finger to his lips, and though he made a face, he crossed his arms over his chest and stayed silent. After a nervous moment's hesitation, I cautiously peered around the side of the brick wall.

My stomach lurched, and I had to quickly clasp my other hand over my own mouth as what looked like a giant mass of maroon-colored matter glided down the street. When I forced myself to look closely, I could see that it was hundreds of little creatures, horrible insect-looking things with grotesque limbs and no eyes. As I watched in horror, they surrounded an abandoned car and just about swallowed it whole, leaving nothing behind when they finally moved on down the street.

Behind me, Ryan had gone white as a sheet. "No," he muttered under his breath, not even seeming to notice that I was there. "That's impossible… But she would've… Oh, no, this is _really_ not good…"

"Ryan!" I snapped, momentarily forgetting about the creepy insect things on the street that most likely would've loved to make a meal out of us. "_What_ do you know that I don't?"

It took what felt like an eternity for him to compose himself (although in reality, it was probably only a minute or two). "How much do you know about Haylee's mom when she was our age?" I blinked. "When your mom was at Alfea, and the two of them were playing out the same fire vs. ice rivalry thing you and Haylee have going on?" This time I glared at him, hoping he would get the message to _stop playing around and just tell me already_. "Does something called the Army of Decay ring a bell?"

The name did sound vaguely familiar; I'd spent the better part of my freshman year in the library devouring anything and everything I could find about Mom and her past and achievements. Struggling to recall the details, I had a little _aha!_ moment when it finally clicked. "_That's _what those things are?" Fleetingly I was thankful that we'd been too distracted to eat breakfast at the hotel, because if there had been anything in my stomach it certainly would've come back up by now.

"Sure looks like it." The buzzing and clicking sounds that were starting to grate on my nerves got closer, and Ryan pulled me behind him like he had with Isabella – more out of instinct rather than for any real protection, I assumed, because I failed to see how this was really any safer if those things could swallow a car – my wrists locked tightly in his grip. Only when the creatures disappeared down another side street did he exhale and let go of me.

I rubbed my sore wrists, frowning as a thought occurred to me. "Don't you need the Dragon Fire to summon the Army of Decay?"

"Think, Alyssa." I bit my tongue as he grabbed my wrists again, forcing me to look up into his eyes. "She's _your sister_."

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as I processed what that meant. "If her Dragon Fire is mixed with darkness already, what kind of effect would that have on the creatures?" Before Ryan could even open his mouth, I inhaled sharply. "My friends! Do you think these things are at Alfea too?"

"Probably. My guess is that Haylee's trying to flush you out, and this is her way of causing a distraction so nobody else can come to your rescue."

I grit my teeth. "Well then, if it's a fight she wants, that's exactly what she's going to get." Closing my eyes and channeling my energy, I was briefly enveloped in a bright burst of light before reappearing, dressed for battle. Taking to the air, I only just managed to remember Ryan in time. "Go to Alfea and find my friends," I called over my shoulder, halting in mid-air to look back at him. "Call the Red Fountain guys if the creatures aren't already there too; I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get to get rid of these things."

"And what are you going to do, 'Liss?"

"I'm going to finish this."

* * *

><p>It didn't take long to find Haylee, once I was able to get a bird's-eye view – a massive ice sculpture that looked as if it had just appeared overnight now took up most of Lake Roccaluce, with just enough room at the top for a person to sit. <em>An ice throne,<em> I realized, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. _How predictable. She's practically making it too easy for me._

However, I quickly changed my tune as I got closer, noticing the razor-sharp-looking icicles covering it in every direction. It might've looked flashy and over-the-top, but I should've known that Haylee was no idiot; this thing was a fortress. And from the height of her seat, she had eyes on me from every possible direction…

_So what do I do? Try for the element of surprise, or just barge right in there like a lamb to slaughter?_

I bit my lip. With all the elements in her favor, it was very unlikely that I'd actually manage to catch Haylee off-guard. If she'd gone to all the trouble of summoning up an otherworldly dark army of destruction to keep the rest of Magix busy so that we could fight one-on-one, she obviously wasn't taking any chances. _ And probably the last thing she'll be expecting is for me to approach her head-on, so maybe I can lower her guard that way…_

So before I could talk myself out of it, my wings were beating at hyper-speed, zooming over miles of forest and now-frozen lake, up up up to Haylee's center of command.

"Nice place you've got here, sis," I said, trying hard to make my comment sound offhanded when really I was wondering where I'd gotten the courage to say something sarcastic at all. Witty comebacks during battle was Mel's shtick, not mine. "But I think it could use a little redecorating. Ice is _so_ out this season." I produced a fireball in my hands and aimed it at her carved-ice chair, only succeeding in melting one of the thousands of icicles surrounding her.

Her cold eyes narrowed as she uncrossed her legs and stood up, hovering in mid-air just above her frozen throne. "Well well well, look who decided to join her own party. Where are those friends of yours, little sister? Did they finally realize that you're _poison_ and drop you like they should have a long time ago?"

"I could say the same thing about your little acolytes – do you even remember their names?" I tilted my head to the side in a casual way, even though this was far from a laid-back conversation. "Your grudge is against _me_, not them, and that's how we're going to end this. Right here, right now, just the two of us."

"Big talk from such a little girl," she said mockingly, her voice dripping with contempt. "Speaking of redecorating, did you like my little present? I figured _anything_ had to be an improvement to Alfea over all that pink."

I couldn't help it; my gaze automatically flicked over to my beloved school, which was being descended upon by hordes of those creepy insect things from Magix, along with some other types of creatures made from the same sort of matter that were even uglier. As I fought back a shudder, a flash of light caught my eye from all the way down on the ground, as a giant clump of the insect-things was blown to bits. It looked suspiciously like one of Lola's sunburst attacks, and the thought of my friends down there fighting back made me even more determined to do my part and defeat the one controlling them.

I refocused my attention on Haylee just in time to dodge a shower of orange-sized pieces of hail, ducking down under one of the many protruding pieces of ice. "You want to play hide and seek, little sister?" Her words were almost as sharp as the icicles as she floated out further away from the relative area of her ice-chair, a ball of her whitish-blue ice magic balancing in her hand. "Fine by me. Ready or not, here I come."

I inhaled sharply, pulling up a protection bubble around myself. A split second later, an enormous hand made of ice crystals launched itself at my bubble with enough force to actually send it reeling backwards. It shattered against the point of one of the icicles and I crashed into the side of the sculpture-throne, the wind knocked out of me. She smirked triumphantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

And that's when I saw it – a long, thin, and very sharp-looking pale blue crystal hanging from a silver chain around her neck.

_A Whisperian Crystal._

Something in the back of my mind seemed to know the significance of that term, even though off the top of my head it meant nothing to me. I struggled to recall it as I fought to regain control over my breathing, growing increasingly more desperate on both counts. _It must have something to do with the Army of Decay…_

_Of course! That's how you summon them!_ I felt myself grin as I finally worked it out, despite my current very un-grin-worthy circumstances. Boosted by the new knowledge, I pushed myself off the side of the ice – only to free-fall a second later, like my wings had somehow lost the strength to hold me anymore. I barely managed to stick my hand out and grab onto an icicle to keep from going splat on the frozen surface of the lake, clinging onto it for dear life.

"Is someone feeling a little tired?" Haylee hovered in front of me, smiling devilishly. "Saw you checking out my jewels earlier. You like?" She reached down and wrapped the chain around her finger, bringing the charm closer to my eye level. "I might have all the power I need to summon the Army of Decay, but it seems this thing still has a taste for Dragon Fire energy." I grit my teeth, cursing myself for having forgotten that particular property of the crystal.

"Pretty," I forced myself to say, despite feeling like someone was squeezing my insides – a combination of the power drainage and, I suspected, some residual wind-getting-knocked-out-of-me. "Did you borrow that from your mom?"

Her eyes widened, and when she let go of the necklace chain I knew I'd hit a nerve. With the crystal not right in my face anymore, I felt my strength return to me, and started to grow a fireball in one palm, keeping it shielded from view as I waited for my wings to recover. "Or did you steal it?" I continued, trying to keep her distracted. "Somehow I doubt she would've given you something like that. Considering how much you disappointed her and all."

"Shut up," she growled. Flakes of snow were whirling wildly around her body, making her look like she was caught in a snow globe. "Don't you _dare_ talk to me about my mother like you know her."

"Oh but I do know her. We had quite an illuminating little chat. I must say, your village was really quite… _charming_." I gave her my best sickly-sweet smile, and when the snowstorm increased in strength I knew I was succeeding at winding her up. A few droplets of water dripped down the side of the sculpture-throne, melted by the strength of my fireball, and I knew it was time to act soon. "You must have such fond memories of there. Especially of her little… _episodes_?"

"I said shut up!" She launched a wave of ice at me, and I countered it with my fireball, increasing the strength to melt all the ice before letting it go so it knocked her backwards. Just as I'd predicted, talking about Isabella had made her emotional, and therefore lowered her guard just enough for me to take advantage.

I felt the familiar tingle on my back that signified my wings were once again in perfect working condition, so I took to the air, advancing forward on Haylee. Enough was enough already. It was my turn to go on the offensive.

The wind was doing crazy things to my hair, blowing it around my face so I could barely see, but I kept my eyes focused on hers regardless. "Your mom says hi, by the way," I said, injecting just the right amount of false sweetness into my voice. "You know, you two really are a lot alike. I guess it's true when they say that the apple doesn't fall far from the crazy tree."

Haylee's jaw clenched, her fists lighting up with magic. "If my mother is 'crazy', then it's because _you_ made her that way. You, who poisons everything she touches." She brought her hands together in front of her face, her ice magic solidifying itself into a giant icicle with a wickedly sharp-looking tip. "I should have done this a long time ago. Now you won't be able to hurt anyone anymore."

Before I could fully process her words, the icicle was hurtling towards me. I knew I should have been relocating, taking myself out of the direct path of what looked to be a more-than-adequate killing weapon, but something kept me frozen in place, unable to move.

Her eyes looked just like Isabella's…

"Alyssa!" Time seemed to move in slow motion as for the second time in less than a week, another person flew in front of me, blocking the attack with their own body. But instead of Alexa's dark hair, this time I saw long blond curls spilling down over tan and white butterfly-style wings.

There was a sickening _crack_ and a startled gasp as the ice made contact.

"No," I breathed, swallowing back a wave of bile as the pointy tip of the icicle became visible at the base of her wings, now stained red. Suddenly I found the strength to move, ignoring Haylee completely in my need to see the face of the girl who'd just saved my life. "Please no," I begged, not quite sure to who; just pleading with someone, anyone, that this was some kind of sick joke. _She can't be dead, no that's impossible, not now, not like this, not for me…_

The icicle protruded grotesquely from her chest, bright red blood staining her white one-shoulder-style mini-dress. Blue-green eyes that would never see again remained fixed on me, still frozen in their last look of shock and terror.

And then her wings stopped beating.

The wordless cry of grief that filled the air made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, before I even realized it had come from my own mouth. My chest ached like it wanted to collapse in on itself, every part of my body feeling as though I'd just been blindsided by a five-ton truck.

_Why did she do that? Why would she sacrifice herself for me?_

"Friend of yours?" Haylee's voice cut through my mourning like a knife. "I have to say, it takes a special kind of person to jump in front of a death sentence for someone else."

The whole world abruptly fell away until all I could see was Haylee. Mocking me, taunting me, torturing me. Haylee, who had Miriam's blood all over her hands.

Haylee, who needed to pay for what she'd done.

I'd always thought people were exaggerating when they talked about 'seeing red' in books, but now I knew that it was no hyperbole; all I could see was a crimson haze, as bright as the blood that had stained her dress. It seemed to dominate my entire being, fueling me with more strength than I could have ever imagined possible.

_First things first – time to even the playing field a bit._

I shot out a tendril of flame towards her necklace, surrounding the crystal completely and squeezing until… _snap_! The tiny shards fell from the sky like a sparkling rain of diamonds. Haylee looked stunned.

Taking advantage of her shock, I launched myself at her with a victorious cry, and for the first time I could ever recall, she turned tail and started flying away. But she was no match for me like this, and I soon overpowered her.

"You. Will. Burn!" The voice was my own, but the words were nothing like I would ever normally say. But this wasn't me anymore; some angry, dark creature had taken my place, something capable of getting the vengeance I craved.

Fire was burning everywhere, until it seemed like the whole world had been swallowed up by the flames. I heard screams that must have been Haylee's, and while part of me would've been quite happy to let her burn until there was nothing left, finally I forced myself to call it off, burying the darkness back deep inside of me again.

Unlike previous times, it faded gradually, like water receeding from the high tide line, or the end notes of a song as it slowly disappeared into silence. In any other case, I would've taken time to dwell on what that meant about my ability to control myself, but right then, I had other things on my mind.

_Miriam's dead… Haylee was going to kill me, and now Miriam's dead…_

"Alyssa!" Lola screamed, sounding practically hysterical. Her hair was a mess and there was dust and grime all over her clothes, but she was there. Whole. Alive. The second I landed on the lake's edge, I wanted to run to her, but as soon as I took one step my entire body threatened to give way. She raced over to me instead, letting me lean against her, keeping me upright.

"I beat Haylee," I heard myself say in a small voice, feeling about as fragile as glass.

"I know, sweetie. I know." Tears streamed down her face. "You were amazing. You saved all of us."

"Miriam's dead."

"It's okay, 'Liss. You're safe." Ryan was there too, on my other side, leaning over me protectively.

"No, you don't understand. Miriam's dead." The words slurred, but I talked on. "Haylee killed her. She was going to kill me, but Miriam saved me." My head began to sway. "She saved me. And then she died."

And then the world went dark.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I've gotta fly - literally - so this'll have to be a quick one. <strong>**Credit for Miriam's fairy outfit goes to E, as does the idea of bringing back the Army of Decay (thanks again for letting me borrow that!).**

**Also, for any Hunger Games fans, I recently posted a oneshot that I would very much appreciate some feedback on. It's called "Pretty Face"; you can find it on my profile. Please and thank you!**

**Only two chapters left, can you believe it? So in the spirit of sentimentality, how about some reviews please? ;-)**

**Au revoir!**

**- Authoress**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"She really did a number on you, didn't she?"

At the sound of that light, melodic voice, I jolted awake, eyes flying open in surprise. _Is that really…?_

"Miriam?" I gaped at the figure in front of me, surrounded by a bright mist that made me unsure if she was a mirage. She _looked_ too good to be true; like the icicle had never even touched her. In fact, she looked better than I could recall her looking in a long time – her wavy blond hair in perfect soft curls, her skin practically glowing, her smiling eyes calm and peaceful. Wearing a short cream-colored dress that looked vaguely familiar, she could've easily been mistaken for an angel, but it wasn't until she came close enough for me to see the aquamarine pendant at her neck that it all clicked.

This was exactly how she'd looked the first time I ever met her. Before there had ever been any secrets or lies between us.

"Is that really… you?" I asked, reaching out tentatively to touch her. She looked so _perfect_ that part of me was convinced she had to be nothing but smoke and light, just a torturously realistic vision.

A wide grin spread across her face, making her look even more angelic. "Who else do you think it'd be, silly goose?" When she hit me playfully on the shoulder, her hand felt as solid as anything, and a spark of hope flared to life in my chest.

"Are you still…" I hesitated. "Does this mean you're not… dead?"

"Uh, no. I am." The straightforward way she said that felt like a punch in the stomach, bringing back the memory of the intense pain I'd felt watching her fly in front of that icicle for me. The blood dripping down her dress, her blue-green eyes staring at me sightlessly… It was a sight I knew I would never be able to erase from my mind no matter how long I lived.

But that image was almost immediately chased away by the sight of her standing here in front of me, with no visible injuries whatsoever. A new chilling thought occurred to me. "But then… does that mean that _I'm_ dead?"

She laughed, that familiar girlish giggle that made my heart hurt. "Oh heavens no. "

The brief sigh of relief I let out almost immediately got stuck in my throat when I realized that even if I wasn't dead, Miriam still was. Even in the throes of the worst of my nightmares, when my unconscious mind had raged against her for what she'd done, I'd never wanted her to _die_. "Is this a dream, then? Or is it – is it real?"

Miriam cocked her head to the side, eyes sparkling with their familiar mischievous twinkle. "Is there some rule I don't know about that means it can't be both?"

I opened my mouth, but the words died on my tongue; I just couldn't bring myself to snap at her, even if she was just a figment of my guilty imagination. Instead, I took a minute to check out the surroundings, which appeared to be just an endless plane of white, stretching out forever with no discernable landmarks to break up the absence of color. All the white was sort of blinding, although the mist did help obscure the brightness a bit, and though there was something solid underneath me, everything else about this place did not adhere to any natural construction I'd ever seen.

A memory of something like this nagged at my mind, and when I allowed myself to remember, I was sent reeling back to last year, when I'd landed myself in the hospital after defeating Taylor. Only then did I realize that although I had felt _emotional_ pain just fine, there was no sign of any wounds on my body, though I knew I had to have some. Whatever this was, wherever we were… it wasn't in the real, physical world. Of that much I was absolutely certain now.

But trying to figure out any more about what this place was and why I was here gave me a headache. So I turned back to the only other person occupying this strange reality with me, the only one who might have some answers. "What is this place?"

"It's a safe space." I narrowed my eyes, silently demanding further explanation. "From the looks of things, I'm guessing you've been here before–" my lips pursed "–so this is what your mind created when you passed out. Don't know why it's just a big white nothing, but it was easy enough for me to occupy, and now that I'm here, it won't change."

I bit my lip. "And… what are you now, exactly? A ghost?"

A whisper of a smile played across her lips. "I guess you could call it that. Do you remember learning about the cycle of energy?" I shook my head. "Nothing in this universe ever disappears completely. Matter changes shape, energy is absorbed and released, but it all goes somewhere; it doesn't just go away. And what's magic? The most advanced kind of energy there is." She gestured to herself. "What I am right now is pure magic. It's a rare and not very well understood phenomenon, but in some cases, when a magical being dies, a part of their soul can latch onto their magic energy and sort of imprint itself, creating something like a reflection. This is an imperfect copy of the person I was, and there are limitations to what I can do, of course, but it's pretty close."

Miriam had always been more into school than I ever was, so I wasn't surprised that most of the technical details flew right over my head. However, the basic concept seemed pretty easy to understand, so I echoed, "So like a ghost?"

"If that's what you feel comfortable referring to it as, then yes. I'm a ghost." Her eyes looked sad, and without really knowing why, I shivered. "Not just anyone can do this, though. You have to have an extremely strong connection anchoring you to the world, and a purpose for staying beyond just to spend more time with loved ones. Usually, only a negative emotion can produce this kind of tether, which is where ghost stories come in; sometimes, so-called haunted houses really are home to vengeful spirits with a bone to pick."

My stomach turned. _But wait… if she's tethered to the world by revenge, why is she talking to me so calmly?_ "How do you know so much about all of this?" I asked instead, skirting the obvious next question.

She averted her eyes. "My… mother studied this. When she knew I thought it was interesting, she taught me." Something about the tone of her voice made me think there was more to this story, but I wasn't about to press her if she didn't want to talk. I owed her that much, at least. In fact, what I owed her was something that could never be repaid.

I took a deep breath, mentally bracing myself. "Well then… what are you waiting for? Scream at me, if that's what you're here for."

Miriam looked up, eyes staring at me in confusion. "Why would I… Oh," she said, her voice soft but full of understanding. "You think I'm still here because I hate you?"

"Why else would you have a strong enough connection to stick around?"

She brought one hand up to her mouth, but not before I could see the hint of a smile creeping into her lips, and there was no disguising the laughter in her eyes. I bit my tongue to keep from asking what was so funny. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment, still trying to keep down her laughter. "I just can't believe you would think that of me. I could never hate you, Alyssa. Not after all that I've done to make you hate _me_."

"Then why are you here?"

"To apologize."

I blinked. "What in the realms do you have to apologize for?"

"Perhaps apologize is the wrong word, but I don't think there really is a more accurate term. Make amends, maybe." She took a few steps forward, reaching for my arm. Even though she'd touched me before, I found I was still surprised to feel something solid. "I know you, Alyssa. And I knew when I flew in front of that icicle that if I died you would spend the rest of your life thinking you caused my death, even though it's not true."

I shook my head slowly. "I _am_ the reason you died, Miriam. You jumped in front of that icicle to save me. If it weren't for me, you'd still be alive."

"If it weren't for _me_, you'd be dead." Ice slithered down my back, creeping into my spine. "I did what I did to protect you, and I don't regret it."

"But you wouldn't have had to do it in the first place if I–"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Anger flashed in her eyes for the first time. "You do not get to beat yourself up every time something happens to someone you care about. I don't know why you hold yourself accountable for other people's choices, but that has to stop. I didn't save you just so you can hate yourself for living." The intensity in her voice made me take a step backwards.

Her voice softened. "It's not always your fault, Alyssa, no matter how much you seem to like blaming yourself. You don't get to make other people's choices for them. And to keep going like this is seriously unhealthy. I know it sounds harsh, but this is your fatal flaw – you care too much, and hurt yourself as a result." She put a hand on my shoulder and looked straight into my eyes. I swallowed hard but couldn't look away. "Sometimes bad things are going to happen, and it sucks, but that's life. It's not. Your. Fault."

For once I found myself at a loss for words. There was something about the way she was speaking that made it impossible for me to fight back, to protest that there was no way the person she was describing was me. Because… it sort of _was_, wasn't it?

_ Oh wow. Is that really the way other people see me?_

"You know, as far as flaws go, it's a wonderful one – if that's not a total oxymoron." She smirked. "You're a good person, Alyssa." The wry half-grin disappeared completely. "Unlike me."

I clucked my tongue. "Weren't you the one just lecturing me about being hard on myself?" I laughed.

She twisted away from me, eyes cast downwards. "You don't need to make me feel better, 'Liss. I know what I am: a selfish, spineless coward who aided and abetted in the attempted murder of the only real friend she ever had. About the only thing I ever did right was die. I don't deserve your forgiveness, or even your pity." My heart contracted at the sincerity in her voice.

"But you have it. Not the pity, but the forgiveness." I slid my arm around her shoulders, squeezing tightly when she tried to shake me off. "Miriam, look at me." I turned her chin so she was looking me in the eye. "I forgave you a thousand times over when you flew in front of that icicle. And who are you talking about? The Miriam I know is kind and brave and incredibly selfless. She couldn't be further from the person you described."

Something glittered in the corner of her eye, and I realized they were tears. "You really think that about me?"

A strange warmth spread through my chest. "Yeah, I do."

Miriam choked out a laugh, reaching up to wipe away her tears. "I… wasn't expecting that," she said finally. _Me neither_, I added in my mind. "I've really missed you, Alyssa, and the only reason I stayed away was because I thought there was no way you'd want to see me."

"Until just now, you'd have been right," I admitted, watching the muscles in her throat contract as she swallowed hard. "I… I'm sorry for what I said to you the other day. I didn't really mean it."

"Yes you did," she insisted. "Maybe not with every fiber of your being, but there was definitely a part of you that was mad at me. And that's okay. I did a horrible thing to you. I don't deserve your forgiveness."

"Stop saying that already," I insisted. Choosing my words carefully, I continued, "I don't think I ever really hated you, though. When I found out what you did, it hurt because I'd trusted you so much. And I was upset when you left because I wanted to know why you did it. The combination made me resentful, but I could never hate you. Not after everything you did for me when I needed someone." It felt _so good_ to get everything out in the open like this, to admit to myself what I'd tried to deny for so long.

_It's okay to forgive her. It's okay to forgive yourself._

When I looked back at her, my eyes widened, and I gasped as her hand start to fade. The outline was still there, but she was becoming like a projection – so much colored air.

A choked sob found its way out of my throat.

"Don't cry, 'Liss," she insisted, putting her fading hands on my shoulders. The sensation was strange, sort of like a cool breeze was tickling my skin. Her voice was getting higher too, and thinner, like the chiming of bells. "It's my time to go. It's nothing short of a miracle that I got this extra time at all."

"I'm just… I'm really going to miss you." Unexpectedly, I threw myself into her arms; they had been in the process of fading as I did, but solidified when I came into contact with them, like I was holding her onto this plane.

"You have to let me go, 'Liss," she said a moment later, stroking my hair gently like I was a little girl. The light, flowery scent of her perfume filled my nose, and for the first time it didn't make my heartbeat race with bad memories. "I'll be alright, I promise."

"_How_ can you be so calm about this?" I asked, not bothering to wipe away the tears streaking down my face.

She smiled softly. "I made my choice knowing full well what the most probable outcome was. I'm not scared of what comes next, so neither should you." I closed my eyes, knowing in my heart that she was right. That didn't make it any easier, though.

As I let go of her, she started to sort of shimmer, like she was made of pure light; the effect only compounded by the bright mist that was starting to descend again, cloaking her fading figure. My throat felt tight, but I forced the tears back.

"Miriam, wait." I could just barely see her through the mist, but there was no mistaking the confusion flickering in her eyes. Confidence faltering, I hesitated. "Wherever you're going… I hope you find peace."  
>She had almost completely faded by now, blending in with the mist so it was impossible to tell where she ended and it began. Nevertheless, her voice was loud and strong, seeming to echo in my bones. "And I wish you the same. Always." I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch as she faded into nothing.<p>

When I opened them again, she was gone.

There was a strange sort of numb feeling in my chest, but oddly enough, no tears, although I felt like I could cry buckets. Then the numbness started spreading, pushing out through the rest of my body and making me feel incredibly light, like my bones had been replaced by helium balloons. The mist moved to surround me, and lacking the energy or willpower to fight, I just surrendered, letting it envelop me and swallow me whole.

_I just want to sleep…_

* * *

><p>"Alyssa?" The next time I dared open my eyes, I saw – to my relief – not that infinite white, but the familiar colors of the Alfea infirmary. A girl with dark blond hair was sitting on the edge of one of the plastic chairs near my bed, looking at me expectantly.<p>

I sat up slowly, blinking a few times to make sure this was real and not just another crazy dream. "Emma?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out." She grinned, but it seemed forced, like she was trying too hard to keep things light. "How do you feel?"

_Fine_, I started to say automatically, but the slightest movement sent pain radiating all the way down my spine. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out, flinching at the sensation. My earlier instincts had been correct – I had not walked away from defeating Haylee without a scratch.

"Ooh," Emma winced, as if my pain were her own. "That's gotta hurt. You want something?" She was already up and halfway across the room, rifling through Nurse Ophelia's medicine cabinet, before I could say a word. "Don't worry," she added, as if she knew what I was thinking (which, duh, of course she did). "I totally know what I'm doing. I won't dope you up or knock you out again."

"I trust you," I said warily, not sure if that was the truth or not. But the pain flaring up in my lower back muscles was enough to make me willing to take anything she put in my hand, even if it sent me back to the world of the infinite white again. (Okay, maybe that was a bit of a stretch.)

"How are you doing?" she asked, sitting back down in her chair as she placed two white oblong pills in my hand, along with a glass of water she'd created out of thin air.

I stuck the pills on my tongue and took a gulp of water, feeling them stick slightly in the back of my throat before swallowing. "I'm sure I'll be better now that I have these," I responded, giving her a grateful smile.

Emma shook her head, eyes wide. "No, I mean how are you _coping_?" She leaned closer, hesitating. "With, you know… _Miriam_?"

I gaped at her. "How do you… How do you know about that?"

Her lips curled up into a mischievous smile. "Psychic, remember?" She tapped one temple with her index finger.

I opened my mouth to answer, but at that exact moment the door flew open and the once-quiet infirmary was suddenly filled with people.

"Alyssa!" Ryan's entire body language changed the second he laid eyes on me, his sigh of relief visible even from across the room. In what seemed like the span of two seconds, he was pulling me into his arms, and I buried my face in his chest. His shirt smelled like smoke and the burned-rubber scent of dark magic, and I shivered. Maybe I'd had it easy, only fighting Haylee.

But when he pulled back to look me in the eye, any thoughts of the battle disappeared as I remembered how less than twenty-four hours ago, we'd been as close as two people can possibly be. "I love you," I said softly, bringing one hand up to trace the curve of his jaw.

"Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again," he said, without a hint of teasing in his tone. The intensity of the look in his eyes made my breath catch. "I mean it, 'Liss. One second you were talking to us, and then you just passed out. I wasn't sure you were even _alive_ for a moment."

"Stop scaring the poor girl, Ry." Alexa's skinny arm draped itself around Ryan's shoulder, long dark hair tickling the side of his face as she squished onto the tiny bed from the other side. "_She's_ the one who went through the real hell here, remember?" She gave him a pointed glare, and my eyebrows arched as he actually looked away sheepishly. Alexa reached over to take my hand. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Alright," I said, trying not to linger too long on the sight of her pretty, pixie-ish face so close to Ryan's. "Emma gave me something for the pain, and that helped."

"That's good."

I'm not going to lie; seeing the two of them pressed against each other like that was unnerving, especially if I started reading into the familiarity with which she'd leaned against him, and how he hadn't pushed her away. But London came to mind – the emotions in Ryan's eyes when he talked about Alexa's childhood, which had been undeniably _awful_ by anyone's standards. These were two people who had known each other for a very long time, and who was I to begrudge Alexa someone who understood her like that? _Besides, I should be well past the point of doubting Ryan's love by now._

"Well isn't this a cozy little scene? You know, I never would've taken you to be the _ménage à trois_ type, 'Liss, but hey, whatever floats your boat." Mel grinned her familiar impish grin. "You don't mind a little interruption, do you?"

"Mel!" Ryan's cheeks flushed, and Alexa at least had the good sense to take her arm off of Ryan's shoulder, which made the muscles in my shoulders unclench.

Mel held up her hands defensively. "Okay, that was in poor taste, got it. Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

Despite myself, I smiled. "Of course you couldn't." She shrugged.

"Move your butts," Lola demanded, practically pushing Alexa and Ryan off the bed. Oblivious to Alexa's displeasure at being so carelessly shoved away, she all but launched herself at me, pushing me back against the pillows and nearly snapping my head back over the headboard with the force of her hug. "You scared me half to death, 'Liss. If you think I'm _ever_ letting you do something like that again, you're insane."

"Since when do I need your permission to do things?" I arched my back, stretching out my stiff muscles.

"You don't get it, do you?" I'd been going for teasing with my remark, but she obviously wasn't in the mood. She gripped my shoulders tightly, shaking me back and forth a few times for good measure. "Maybe _you're_ missing the fear gene or something, but how do you think the people who care about you feel when you go charging off to face someone who has flat-out admitted they want you dead? I've almost lost you too many times, 'Liss, and I'll be damned if I actually let it happen. _Please_," she pleaded, looking close to tears. "We're supposed to be best friends, and that's what best friends do. They support each other, so they don't have to do things like this alone."

The raw emotion in her voice made my throat tighten. I looked up at the faces of the others, seeing how closely their eyes echoed Lola's words, even if she was the only one saying them aloud. For the first time, I realized just how much of an impact I'd made on my friends by not including them in this. All I'd wanted was to protect them, but in the light of day, it did just look like I was too headstrong to accept help.

Miriam's words floated back to me: _You don't get to make other people's choices for them._ But that was exactly what I'd tried to do, wasn't it? The girls standing in front of me had made their choice – to stand with me, no matter what – but I'd tried to deny it to them. I'd been pushing them away all year, subconsciously or not. And I had nothing and no one to blame for that except myself.

I took a deep breath. "I know. And I'm sorry. I know it's no excuse, but I just…" My voice cracked. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"Silly 'Liss," Ivy said, sitting down on the side of the bed and resting her hand on my leg. "Haven't you learned by now that we don't care? We're a team, the six of us. If someone threatens one of us, they threaten us all."

"I know. And I know it's no excuse." It felt like all I could do was repeat the same words over and over again.

"But we forgive you all the same."

Though it felt like there were rocks in my stomach, I turned to Lola, who I owed by far the biggest apology for all of this. "Thank you, Lo, for sticking by my side. I know I wasn't the easiest person to put up with these last few months."

She gave a small smile. "There's nothing you could've said or done that would've pushed me away for good. You're like a sister to me, 'Liss."

No doubt she'd said the words intending only positive connotations, but the word _sister_ just left a bad taste in my mouth. It made me think of my real sister, most likely in custody somewhere, covered in burns _I_ had given her. _Life was so much easier when I was an only child… _

I pushed the thought away. There would be a time and place for sorting out my complicated feelings towards Haylee, but not now. "And by the way," I added, cracking a smile to try and lighten the tension, "I _definitely_ have the fear gene. Confronting Haylee just about scared the crap out of me."

"You'd never have known it, watching from Alfea," Aqua chimed in. My eyebrows shot up as I realized that of course my friends would have seen – we were some fifty feet up in the air, hurling magic at each other like our lives depended on it (which they had… but again, not dwelling on that now). "At the end there, when you, like, _became_ a ball of fire… I was all, Now where did she learn how to do_ that_?"

"To be honest, that's sort of what I was thinking too." I forced out a laugh. "It was instinct more than anything, I think. My emotions fuel my magic more than most people's, and when I got mad, it just sort of… took on a life of its own."

But it hadn't been quite like the other times my magic had controlled me instead of vice versa, I remembered.

Some invisible force made me look up, and when I did I saw Alexa leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. I was surprised to see her still here; I would've assumed she'd left after Lola'd so unceremoniously kicked her off the bed. Her blue eyes seemed to bore into mine when they caught my gaze, and somehow I just knew that she knew what I was thinking about – that for that single moment over the lake, I'd managed to control my dark magic, to reign it in and command it, instead of letting it control me.

Her eyes flickered with something indescribable, and when she pushed herself off the wall, I was sure she was going to come over here and make me talk about it. Describe in infinitesimal detail what I had done, what it had felt like, dissect what had been different about this time until my brain wanted to burst out of my skull. But instead, she shot me one last look over her shoulder before she slipped through the doorway and out of sight.

I let out a small sigh of relief.

Ryan reappeared then, holding a glass of water that I drank down gratefully. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, ladies, but apparently we have to go now."

"What? Why?" Mel exclaimed.

"You feel fine, right 'Liss?" Lola asked, in a way that made it sound like anything but a question. "You want us to stay."

"I'm afraid this is standard procedure for anyone who's spent a period of time unconscious." Ophelia bustled by with her trademark clipboard. "I need to monitor your friend overnight to make sure that whatever caused her to pass out has worked its way out of her system for good. Besides, it's been quite an eventful day. You all need your rest, Alyssa especially."

"It's okay, guys," I said, hugging them each in turn. "You heard Ophelia; it's just for the night. I'll be back in the dorm before you know it."

They put up a little more of a fight, but eventually they filed out the door. "I'll be back tomorrow, 'Liss," Ryan said, kissing me on the cheek. "Sweet dreams." Alone at last, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headboard, reveling in the silence.

"You sure are one popular girl." I opened one eye in surprise at the sound of Emma's voice, the other following in short order to see her leaning against a counter by the medicine cabinet.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, I want to be a healer, so Faragonda worked it out with Ophelia that I get to help her a couple days a week during my free time, sort of like an internship." She smiled. "I told you I knew what I was doing with those pills."

"And I'm grateful for them," I replied. That did explain how she'd known what to give me. "I didn't know that. That's cool."

"Yeah, it is." She looked back and forth a bit, as if checking to make sure we were really alone, then walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. "You never answered my question earlier, you know."

I sucked in a breath, instantly recalling exactly what she was talking about. "I'm sorry if this feels like an invasion of your privacy, and I understand if you don't want to talk about it," she continued. "But something's telling me you do want to talk, and the problem is finding the right person to listen."

Again, it was scary how much she seemed to have read my mind, but when I remembered who she was, it suddenly wasn't that weird. "I… I don't know," I admitted finally, because she was right – I did need someone to talk to, and as much as I loved the other girls, none of them exactly fit the bill. "It's just… how do I get over the fact that she let Haylee kill her so I wouldn't die?" Just saying the words out loud made my heart beat faster, my chest feeling like it was trapped under a thousand tons of rock.

"What would _she_ tell you to do?" Emma arched an eyebrow at me. "Somehow I doubt she'd want you to spend the rest of your life feeling crushingly guilty for what happened to her. She'd want you to make the most of the life she sacrificed herself for you to have." This sounded so much like what ghost-Miriam had said that for a second I shivered.

I heard footsteps as Ophelia reappeared, and she hopped up quickly, pressing a finger to her lips. "Shhh," she said as I opened my mouth, already taking steps away from me. "You heard Ophelia; you need your rest. Just think about what I said, okay?"

Too drained to argue, I slid down onto my back, closing my eyes and trying to clear my mind enough to sleep. It wasn't easy, though, not with all the thoughts swimming around in my brain. Sighing, I pulled the blankets up over my shoulders and twisted onto my side, trying to find a position that would allow me to relax.

The far window must have been open, because a cool breeze wafted past my face, carrying with it a very familiar smell. My nose twitched. "Miriam?" I whispered into the silence, as if there were any way she could answer me.

The faint flowery scent hung in the air, almost taunting me. For the first time, I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes, and shut them tightly, almost willing them back.

_No. I am not going to cry. Emma's right – Miriam would hate it if she saw me crying my eyes out over her. She'd want me to live, and enjoy life. So by the Great Dragon, that's what I'm going to do._

"I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Happy birthday E! One year older and wiser but no less awesome. :) Hope you enjoyed the second part of your present (even if it took a lot longer than I'd thought to finish).<strong>

**So okay. This chapter involves a _lot_ of sort of character analysis/development/realization/whatever the hell you want to call it. Honestly, even I had no idea that some of this stuff was going to come out the way it did until I started writing. But I feel like it all fits. ****Alyssa is far from the same person she was at the first chapter of What Comes Next, and I think it was important to have her sort of work through all her issues like that. Because really, at the heart of it, that is what this book was about: her piecing herself back together, after all this crap she's gone through (and yes, that is why it's called "What's Left of Me" - love that I finally get to explain that!).**

**All that being said, how do you guys feel I handled the Miriam thing? I didn't just kill her arbitrarily, as I'm sure you can tell (in fact, that was in my original notes for this book way back when it was still just a rough outline, when WPIP wasn't even halfway done), although it made me sad to write that scene. :( Did you like my way of 'bringing her back'? Sometimes it amazes me how much mythos for properties of magic I've conceptualized while writing this trilogy. I should write a field guide or something, lol.**

**And yes, next chapter is the last one. *cries* But don't worry, this isn't just the typical sort of last-dance frilly fashion nonsense (BTW, be prepared for a major timeskip - I realized I sort of killed the timeline here, with everything from about ch. 9 on taking place in the span of about 3 days). There is definitely one major loose end waiting to be tied up in chapter 15, along with the resolution of something I decided to skip in this chapter to save time. So look forward to that, and the Haylee/Icy companion piece, which presently is about half-finished and should definitely be done in tandem with ch. 15.**

**Kisses!**

**- Authoress**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

_Four months later…_

"Name, please?" the security guard asked, looking down at me through the glass.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. "Um, Princess Alyssa of Sparx," I said distractedly, fishing it out and staring at the screen, new texts appearing almost as fast as I could read them.

**LOLA: **still time to change your mind if you want

**LOLA:** you're missing out an awesome time

**LOLA:** where are you anyways?

I sighed, fingers flying across the keys. I personally happened to hate texting, but with Lola for a best friend (whose phone was practically glued to her fingers), sometimes it was unavoidable.

**ALYSSA:** taking care of some business

"And who are you here to see?"

"Haylee DiGiacomo," I replied, sliding my phone back into my pocket and smiling at the guard, hoping some charm would get me inside quickly. I bit back a groan as my phone buzzed again.

**LOLA:** that's all I get? seriously?

**ALYSSA:** yes, seriously. it's important. tell you more later

"Ahem." I quickly closed my phone, ignoring the vibration as it buzzed again in my hand (wasn't Lola supposed to be at the spa? And didn't those have strict no-phone policies?). The guard gave me a funny look, then said, "Yes, here we are. Go on ahead, Princess."

There was a creaking sound as the metal bars in front of the door retracted, allowing me to push it open. The sound of my footsteps echoed on the concrete floor, strangely loud in the eerie silence, and the fluorescent lights were harsh on my eyes. Everything about this place was an extreme contrast to every other part of Magix I'd seen.

The Magix Detention Facility was a pretty basic prison (or so I assumed; I'd never actually been in one before), built to hold the city's average, run-of-the-mill lawbreakers serving minimal sentences. But it also served as a holding facility for more dangerous criminals awaiting trial with the Magix Council – criminals like my sister.

My phone buzzed again, and I let out a groan. _Ugh, Lola… _I tapped at the screen, bringing up my messages.

**LOLA:** this is our last prom ever. what's more important than that?

Below it was another message, time-stamped earlier. I frowned.

**RYAN:** where are you? hope you're not doing something stupid…

"Excuse me. Miss?" I looked up right as I would have been about to walk through a metal detector. My cheeks burned as the guard in charge muttered something under his breath about 'kids these days and their gadgets'.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, quickly pulling off my jewelry and dumping my stuff into one of the plastic boxes to go on the conveyor belt. Finally, I dropped my phone in and gave it a push, watching it disappear under the strips of black rubber.

In no time at all I was on the other side, tapping out another message.

**ALYSSA:** just trust me. I'll tell you later

Sighing, I fired off the same note to both of them, hoping they'd leave it alone. I hated hiding things from my friends, and especially from Ryan, but they just wouldn't understand why I had to do this.

"I'm sorry, miss, but cell phones are not permitted past this point. If you would be so kind?" Another uniformed guard, this one guarding a pair of white double doors, held out his hand. "I promise I'll take good care of it until you're done." He winked.

"Alright," I said, handing it over. In a way, it was a relief to have the damn thing taken off my hands; now I really had no way to communicate with them, and thus no way to keep lying to them. "I'm here to see Haylee DiGiacomo?"

His cheerful demeanor faltered for a second, as he gave me the same funny look that the guard outside had. For a moment, I wondered how much they knew about why Haylee was here, and who we were to each other. But I dismissed the thought right away. Most likely they were just curious about me – I couldn't imagine Haylee had had too many visitors. "Follow me," he said, slipping my phone into an impossibly small-looking pocket on the utility belt he wore around his waist. The pocket expanded in size to swallow up my phone before shrinking again, confirming my suspicions that it was enchanted. "Miss DiGiacomo's cell is this way."

The back part of the prison seemed quite similar to the front – lots of concrete, white-painted brick, and ugly fluorescent lighting. Cells with metal-barred doors lined the walls, but thankfully, they were all empty. "It's been pretty slow here lately," remarked the guard conversationally, noticing my interest in the vacant cells. "Miss DiGiacomo is the first of a certain… _type_ of prisoner we've had here in a while." He gave me another one of those looks over his shoulder, and it occurred to me that he was staring at my eyes. The gold eyes I shared with only one other person in the magical dimension (as far as I knew); a person who could've very well been a prisoner here years ago. A shiver raced down my spine unbidden at the thought.

But before I could muster up the courage to ask him directly, he stopped a few feet from a cell at the very end of the hallway. "It's this next one," he said softly, and I wondered if Haylee could hear him, was wondering who could possibly be here to see her. I'd be willing to bet any amount of money she wasn't expecting me. "Would you like me to remain, or…?"

"I think I'll be fine on my own, if that's okay." I forced a smile, trying to lessen the tension, while inside my heart hammered against my chest at triple speed.

He didn't look convinced. "Well, there are security cameras monitoring her every move. If anything goes wrong, you can be sure we'll step in." Then he discreetly vanished, leaving me alone.

I looked down to see my hands shaking, and took a few deep breaths. _You didn't have to do this, 'Liss_, I told myself. _But you _wanted_ to. So stop acting like a damn coward. What can she do to you from behind bars, anyways?_

"You gonna just stand there all day, or are you actually going to talk to me?"

My heart seized at the sound of her voice. Four months had passed since the last time I'd seen her, but my body was still conditioned to associate her voice with fear and pain. _She's behind bars_, I reminded myself, nails cutting into my palms as I tried to calm myself down. _She can't hurt you or anyone else anymore._

"Hey, big sis." It was the first time I'd ever called her my sister out loud, and the word tasted strange on my tongue. "Nice digs you've got here." The cell was about six by nine feet, walls a dark gray instead of the sterile white of the rest of the prison. A sparse-looking platform against the far wall was made up to look like a bed, and that was it as far as décor. There wasn't even a window, which made my heart clench slightly despite everything; I couldn't imagine never getting to see natural light.

Haylee shrugged, looking strangely apathetic. "You saw my house. This place is practically a palace in comparison." She wore a simple white T-shirt and pants (so the orange jumpsuit thing _was_ just a stupid movie cliché), her reddish-gold hair falling loosely around her shoulders and her face devoid of makeup. I had to blink a few times, unused to looking at her without her usual piles of blue eyeliner.

There was something different about her, I thought, and not just the clothes. The casual yet defeated way she'd referred to her life before coming to Magix – the Haylee of four months ago would've swallowed acid before letting such a statement pass her lips in front of me. The change was subtle but undeniably there, like a ripple in a large pond.

"So what are you doing here?" Her voice jolted me out of my thoughts. "Come to gloat over your victory? Ding-dong, the psycho witch is locked away for good? You're about four months late on that, if you ask me, but I guess time is a luxury _you_ can afford to waste." Her lips curled into a sneer, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. So there was some of the old Haylee still in there. It was a strange comfort, but considering all the ways my life had changed in the past four months, it was nice to know that _some_ things hadn't changed.

"I've been busy," I said vaguely, not about to get into everything with her. She'd probably just find some way to twist it to make fun of me again.

"Busy having a life, while I'm stuck in here rotting. Don't sugarcoat things, Princess. It's just a waste of both our time."

"When's your trial set for again?" I asked, trying to tactfully change the subject; I'd forgotten how acerbic she could be.

She shrugged. "Who knows, who cares. Doesn't matter when they finally get it over with; I already know what the verdict's going to be."

"You never know," I offered, even though I was almost certain she was right. "And anyway, you seem to be doing alright here."

"Oh please. It's Omega for me and we both know it. Because of my _illustrious_ parentage, those judges had a target on my back from day one. I'd be surprised if it takes them more than two minutes to convict me, forget the two hours they have."

It was her eyes, I realized with a start. Those icy blue eyes had lost their animalistic lust for revenge, leaving behind an almost vacant expression. She looked eerily like her mother. The thought made me shiver.

"But that's… that's unfair! You're not your parents; what they did shouldn't be held against you." I remembered my freshman year, when the truth about my dad had first come out and most people started avoiding me like the plague. No one deserved to be judged for something they had no control over; not even Haylee.

"That's life," she said simply. "Although I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You've always had it good." She absently traced circles on the inside of her left wrist. There was a tattoo there – what looked like a dark blue spiral. Something about the shape made me think of words, but if it was, I couldn't make them out.

"I know it's nothing compared to what you've been through, but you're mistaken if you think I had it easy…"

"You're right. It was _nothing_. You deserved everything you got." I took a step backwards as she glared at me, her eyes full of that familiar fire that haunted my nightmares. Then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, and she slumped against the wall again.

I hesitated, unsure whether she would bite my head off if I tried to speak again. The blue streaks in her hair were starting to grow out, and her eyes were closed. She looked so… vulnerable right now, a word I never thought I'd associate with Haylee. It amazed me how without the eyeliner and attitude, she looked younger than her age instead of years older. Young and fragile and… innocent, even.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the thin chain that was the main reason I'd come today. "Here," I said, offering it out through the bars. The gold gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights, the tiny fleur-de-lis pendant dangling from the end. "I think you should have this. It…" I paused. "It was Grandmother's."

"Why would I want something that belonged to the former Queen of Sparx?"

"Not _my_ grandmother. _Our_ grandmother."

The silence was defeaning. My arm began to hurt from holding the necklace out, and I was about to just forget it when I felt her fingertips brush against mine ever so slightly. "Aunt Darcy told me that Baltor was created from a dark ember of the Dragon Fire," she said, slowly closing her fingers around the pendant. I let go of the chain, watching it drop and dangle towards the ground as she brought it back towards her.

"This belonged to the woman who raised him for years. Her name was Allison." I remembered hearing Dad tell me the story, how my heart had ached at the thought of everything he'd been through. In many ways, compared to him or Haylee, I _had_ had an easy life. "She died in the attack on Sparx."

Haylee was fastening the clasp now; the chain was almost exactly the right proportions for her frame, the pendant fitting into the dip in her collarbone like it was meant to go there. "I didn't know that," she murmured under her breath, so softly I could barely hear it (though I had a feeling I wasn't meant to). "So much I didn't know."

"It suits you," I said a little more loudly than necessary, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Why?" she asked, turning back to face me. There was something in her eyes that I couldn't quite describe, something softer than what I was used to from her. If I hadn't known better, I might have called it gratitude. "Why are you doing this for me?"

I bit my bottom lip. "I'm not quite sure," I answered honestly. "Maybe it's because I know what you've been through. It's no excuse, but I understand why you would do the things you did. And I still hate you for what happened with–" my throat tightened "Miriam, but… I don't know. You're my sister, my flesh and blood. That's supposed to mean something."

"I always wanted a sister," she said, again in that barely audible voice not meant for my ears. Her blue eyes were distant.

This girl sitting in front of me was such a far cry from the one that had snarled at me on the roof of Red Fountain, shattered my world in Magix, slammed me against the frozen surface of Lake Roccaluce, that she almost seemed to be a different person. It was as if the walls had come down, and I was seeing the real Haylee; just a broken girl longing for what she'd been deprived of all her life – a family. That had always been her motivation, I realized, and with that I began to see her in a different light. Still angry, still unrepentent, but human.

Forgivable.

Not that I forgave her, by any means, but just to know that it was possible seemed to ease my conscience a bit. It made no sense, but with everything that had happened to me in the last few years, I'd long ago stopped trying to compare myself against 'normal' people. What was normal, anyways? Seems like the kind of thing that was all relative.

The little object in my pocket felt like it was searing a hole into my skin. Almost of their own accord, my fingers reached into my pocket and curled around it, swallowing it up into my palm.

"I still don't like you, you know." Her voice jolted me back to the present. "This doesn't change anything." But the look in her eyes said otherwise, and despite everything, I smiled a little.

"I wouldn't expect it to," I laughed, bringing my closed fist back out of my pocket. Discreetly, I let it hover by the space between two of the bars that closed off her cell, gripping the metal tight enough to leave grooves in my skin. Then I hesitated. "Just… take care of yourself, Haylee."

She froze, obviously not expecting that, and for a moment I saw her mental walls crash down, emotions flickering across her eyes too fast for me to name them. They were back up in an instant, her usual cool detachedness sliding back into place, but just that brief moment of emotional clarity was enough to strengthen my conviction.

I opened my fist.

"Goodbye, sis," I said, smiling weakly as I stood up. I could just barely hear the _plink_ as the little thing hit the floor.

"Hey, you dropped something!" I heard her say, when I had gone maybe five steps down the hall. I kept going, pretending I didn't hear her.

Maybe I would regret this decision, but something in my gut was telling me I wouldn't. And really, what was life without taking a few leaps of faith?

* * *

><p>"Knock knock," came Lola's familiar sugar-sweet coo, poking her head in the door of my room. "Ooh, someone looks fantastic."<p>

I finished lining my eyes, turning around from the mirror to face her. "Make that two someones. Lo, you look stunning."

She giggled, striding over to me like she was walking the runway at a fashion show, chin up and hair flying. Her dress was pure Lola-style: short, strapless, and pink satin, with a pale pink bodice that had a sweetheart neckline, a black band cinched at the waist, and a darker pink frilly tiered skirt. With it, she wore three-inch black peep-toe pumps (of course, no formal outfit would be complete without a pair of impractical heels), and two black beaded bracelets on her right arm.

She did a little twirl before stopping in front of me, grabbing my hands in hers. "Seriously, 'Liss, you clean up _nice_ for a girl who skipped the spa day. Where's your dress from again?"

"It's called Preserved Memories." For my final dance at Alfea, I'd picked out a cream satin strapless number that hit mid-thigh, with puffy dark gold tulle skirts peeking out from under the hem, a gold lace overlay, and a golden-beige satin sash tied at the waist in a big bow at the front. "This tiny little vintage place on Earth. I should really take you there some time; the clothes are awesome, and the owner always gives me a really great discount."

Lola wrinkled her pert little nose. "Vintage clothes? Earth? I'll pass."

I shrugged, swiping another bobby pin off my dresser. "Your loss, then." Turning back to the mirror, I angled the pin to catch a stray curl; uncharacteristically, I'd decided to put my hair up in a bun, with a few curls artfully falling out around my face. When I was finally satisfied that it would stay put, I reached back over to my vanity and grabbed a tube of lipstick.

"You _really_ won't tell me where you went this afternoon?" My hand froze, and I breathed a sigh of relief that the lipstick had still been a few inches away from my mouth.

"I'll tell you eventually," I said finally, carefully outlining my lips in the pink-nude shade I'd picked out. "For now, just trust me."

"Alright." I watched her reflection in the mirror as she walked over to me and wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me close against her. "Look at us," she said. "Could you have ever predicted, way back when we first met freshman year, that things would have turned out like this?"

"I don't think I could have predicted the way _this_ year would have turned out, let alone all the rest." I laughed, slinging one arm around her shoulder. "We've had a crazy three years here, that's for sure. And you have no idea how much it means to me that you've stuck with me through all of it."

Lola beamed. "Of course. That's what friends are for." She gave me a quick squeeze. "Now come on. I don't want to keep you from your _date_ any longer."

"Nor I you from yours," I teased, letting her pull me out the door. I had been as shocked as anyone when Lola, a self-proclaimed 'serial dater', had started seeing this guy named Jake at the beginning of the year, but they'd been going strong for at least six months now. Maybe there really was someone for everyone.

In fact, all the girls had dates tonight, and none just as friends or set-ups. It made me feel a little bad, actually, to realize that my friends had been having love lives of their own that I'd completely missed the past three years, as wrapped up as I was in Ryan. (Not that he wasn't completely worth it…)

The first person I saw when we reached the courtyard was Ivy, with Ryan's roommate Scott. She wore an empire-waist sleeveless white dress with spaghetti straps, a thin black ribbon tied under the bust, and a short flowy skirt with a shimmering chiffon overlay that swirled when she moved. Black jeweled drop earrings accentuated the graceful curve of her neck, which was exposed by the long braid woven through with a black ribbon that fell down her back. Said braid was floating out behind her as she whirled around the dance floor blissfully in Scott's arms, but she still managed to shoot me a beaming smile.

"'Liss!" Aqua exclaimed, racing up to my side. In typical Aqua fashion, she'd gone with something outrageous – a skintight one-shoulder pale green and black leopard-print mini-dress with green ruffle detail on the strap. Dee was with her, dressed much more simply in a strapless dark purple mini-dress with a white belt that had a silver buckle cinched at the waist, nipping in to accentuate her tiny figure. Their dates – two RF boys named Evan and Merrick, respectively – hovered a few feet away, holding cups of punch. "You look _gorgeous_, as usual. Lo, Jake's looking for you," she added, turning to Lola, whose eyes lit up as she promptly disappeared.

"Ah, young love," Dee commented. "And look, now we're about to lose our 'Liss too." My eyebrows arched just as I turned around to see Ryan coming up from behind me. Instantly, I threw myself into his arms; behind me, I could hear Dee chuckling.

"Hello to you too, 'Liss," he laughed, dropping a kiss on the top of my head before releasing his grip on me. "You are a pinnacle of loveliness, as usual." A faint blush spread across my cheeks, as he reached down to trace along my collarbone, stopping at the familiar heart-shaped locket hanging from a gold chain. "Where's your fleur-de-lis?" he asked. "I'm surprised you're not wearing it; you've been inseperable from that thing lately."

My heart skipped a beat. "In a safe place," I said finally, not having the heart to lie to Ryan. I could see the questioning look in his eyes – he was no idiot, after all – and slid my hand into his, intertwining our fingers, in the hopes of distracting him. "Besides," I said, swinging my hand back and forth as I started to pull him out onto the dance floor, "I felt like wearing this one tonight. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Not at all," he murmured, his breath hot on my skin as he leaned down to give me a real kiss. My eyelids fluttered shut as I wound my arms around his neck, stretching onto my tiptoes to get a better angle.

"You two _seriously_ need to get a room already." Smiling despite myself, I pulled back to see Mel standing in front of me, her hands on her hips and a familiar twinkle in her cat-eye-liquid-lined eyes. She wore a short clingy halter dress with a scoop neck and even lower back that showed off her tattoo, the color a dark blue that perfectly matched said ink. A tieback waist and slightly looser skirt (perfect, of course, for dancing) added a touch of femininity, but overall, the look was very original Mel-style. I'd been thoroughly relieved when she finally ditched the trying-too-hard Gothic Lolita look.

"You're hardly one to talk, my friend. I saw you and Jared getting pretty cozy earlier." She blushed, the color startling against her pale, makeup-less skin. Jared was a year older than us and worked in Mel's favorite music store, and they'd been casually dating for the last month or so. Judging from the way he looked at her, and the way they acted every time I saw them together, though, I had a sneaking suspicion that things were about to become more than just 'casual' very soon. "Go," I laughed, making shooing motions with my hands. "Have fun with your boy toy and let me enjoy mine." That earned me a raised eyebrow from Ryan and a hearty laugh from Mel, who took the hint and melted off into the crowd.

"Boy toy?" Ryan echoed, giving me a skeptical look.

"Yes," I said, tugging his head down to mine (why did he have to be so tall? I was wearing three-inch heels and still came up a few inches short!). "Now shut up and kiss me already." Thankfully, he had no problem obliging.

This time it was him who pulled back first, and I whined at the loss of contact. "Come on, 'Liss, we have plenty of time for that." He tugged on one of my loose curls and I scowled. "I have a surprise for you, but it involves moving from this spot."

"This better be one freaking awesome surprise then."

"Trust me, I think you'll find it quite awesome indeed." I rolled my eyes, reluctantly allowing him to drag me wherever he wanted to go, scanning the courtyard as I did. Strings of twinkling white lights were draped between the buildings, adding sparkle to the already starry night; the dance floor was dotted with little pink-clothed tables for sitting and talking, with a couple longer ones set up with food; the music was playing at the just the right decibel, loud enough to be heard and to dance to but still soft enough to talk over if you wanted… Yes, everything about this night was shaping up to be pretty damn perfect. Now if only I could get Ryan back on the dance floor already.

Turning my attention back to him, I asked, "You can't give me even one tiny little hint?" I fluttered my eyelashes in a way (I hoped) he couldn't resist. Apparently my seduction skills were sorely lacking, though, because he just smiled enigmatically and shook his head.

"You'll see–"

"Alyssa, honey, you look so beautiful!" It's safe to say I was _not_ expecting to hear my mom's voice, or to be nearly knocked over as she hugged me. But as I breathed in the familiar scent of her perfume, I smiled and hugged her back all the same.

"Like mother, like daughter," Dad chimed in, resting one hand on my shoulder as Mom finally let go of her death grip. She did look nice, in a dark turquoise silk chiffon sleeveless dress with a long skirt that fluttered around her calves and an inlaid pattern of clear and turquoise crystals around the neck that resembled a necklace, her long red hair in soft curls. But by far the prettiest thing about her was her megawatt smile as she leaned against Dad's arm.

Yes, despite everything, my parents had managed to find their way back together. After all they'd been through, I knew without a doubt that my parents were made for each other. Nothing could break a bond like that. I just hoped that I'd be lucky enough to have something like that someday – if I hadn't already found it.

But though I wasn't surprised to see them together, I was surprised to see them. I'd almost forgotten that with graduation tomorrow morning, there was a much higher than usual concentration of parents in Magix, and that some of them would be here tonight. "Is this my surprise?" I asked Ryan out of the corner of my mouth.

"Not exactly. But here it comes." I was just about to ask him to clarify more when I saw a familiar shock of blond hair moving through the crowd towards us.

"Are you a complete _idiot_?" I hissed. "You know how shaky things are with my parents, and you think adding your dad is going to be a _good_ thing? After everything that happened last year?"

"Calm down, 'Liss," he said, sounding annoyingly calm. "You'll see."

I was about to shoot back several choice words when I heard Mom exclaim, "S-Sky! What a… surprise!" She gave him a quick friendly hug, while behind her Dad's eyes flickered with anger. I swallowed hard.

"Bloom," Ryan's dad said warmly. "A pleasure as always. May I introduce you to Natalie?" It was only then that I noticed the slim female hand linked in his, attached to the slender arm of a pretty woman about Mom's age, with straight light brown hair and green eyes. She wore a simple black strapless dress with an asymmetrical hem, and around her neck was a silver necklace with a square-cut emerald.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Your Highness," this Natalie said, in a sweet, well-mannered voice. "Sky's told me quite a lot about you."

Mom blinked a few times, like she wasn't sure what was going on. "H-how do you two know each other?"

"Yes, Ry," I said under my breath; it was clear the adults couldn't have cared less about us, but they could still hear us. "Who is she?"

"She's a cousin of the queen of Vallisto," he answered evenly, clearly evading my real question. But as I looked at the way their hands were linked, the soft look in Ryan's dad's eyes, the necklace around her neck that I was almost certain was an Eraklyon royal family heirloom, it all fell into place.

"How long have they been dating?"

Ryan smiled. "A few months."

"Ryan! Your dad gets a girlfriend and you wait until _now_ to tell me?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a familiar high, tinkling voice calling his name. "Oh, Ryan!" Alexa chirped, placing her hands on his forearms and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "Were you ever going to say hello, or were you going to just be a rude _boy_ all night?"

"Hello, Alexa," he mumbled, looking uncomfortably at me. No matter how many times he saw us being friendly, a part of him never seemed to let go of the fear that I would misinterpret something. But he really didn't have to worry anymore.

"Hey pretty girl," I cooed, giving her a tight hug as she pulled herself off Ryan. "That dress is _amazing_." The dress in question was a shimmery silver halter mini-dress with a cut-out-style exposed back, that contrasted gorgeously with Alexa's pale skin and dark hair.

Alexa beamed, shimmying her shoulders in a way that made the fabric glitter like crazy. "Derek seems to think so too," she told me conspiratorily, her trademark red-painted lips curling up into a grin. "He hasn't been able to keep his hands off me all night."

"Can you blame me, with a girlfriend as hot as this one?" She squealed as Derek appeared from behind her, giggling as he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her against him. When he started trailing kisses along the exposed curve of her neck, the sound increased in frequency to the point where I presumed half the people in the courtyard could hear her.

It was funny watching the two of them – both older than any of the non-parents or teachers here, and yet going so overboard on the PDA like a couple of little kids. From across the courtyard, I could see Lola staring daggers at them; she'd been predictably annoyed when Derek actually decided to clean up his act and begged Alexa to give him another chance. They'd been together – really together – for the past three months, and Alexa had told me in confidence that it was actually getting kind of serious. While I didn't pass up any opportunity to tease Lola about her new potential sister-in-law (ah, that never got old – even though I'd told her a thousand times Alexa wasn't so awful), I kind of doubted it'd actually ever get that far. But as long as Alexa was happy now, I was happy for her. She definitely deserved it.

"I suppose keeping the public displays of affection to a non-distracting minimum was simply too much to ask, hmm Derek?" A poised blond woman who looked exactly like I imagined Lola would in twenty years arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow at the two of them, while behind her a brown-haired man who had to be her husband – Lola's dad, who I'd never actually met – grinned sheepishly.

Alexa's cheeks flushed as Derek gripped her waist tightly. "Come on, Mom, loosen up. You remember what being young and in love feels like, don't you?" If possible, Alexa's blush deepened, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Since he'd cleaned up his act, Lola had told me, her parents had been making an effort to reconcile with their oldest child. But from the way her mom was shifting uncomfortably, I could tell that a part of her probably wished she could continue to write him off as a delinquent slacker. For her part, Alexa tried to do whatever she could to facilitate things between Derek and his parents, but there's only so much you can do for family drama that's not your own – a lesson I knew very well.

"Well, Derek certainly has very good taste," Mom put in, obviously trying to diffuse the tension between her best friend's family. (A part of me secretly suspected she was trying to escape what looked like an awkward conversation with Sky and Natalie. I couldn't really blame her – that whole thing _had_ come straight out of left field.) "Stel, did I tell you about what Alexa did for Alyssa? And the amazing position she's been offered with Dr. Winters? You remember him, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" Lola's mom said dryly, making me think there was a story there I didn't know. But considering the circumstances, I probably didn't want to know.

Dr. Winters had been the Sparx royal physician when my mom was pregnant with me, and apparently I owed my very existence to him; the first time Mom got pregnant, she miscarried, and was told that any baby of Dad's she tried to have would suffer the same fate. Dr. Winters, though, in all his magic-genetics-knowledge glory, had devised a way for her to carry me full term.

It had been Alexa's idea to find him, once she'd heard the story of my birth, to see if he could help in the never-ending journey towards teaching me to control my dark magic. And while we hadn't been able to find some perfect explanation and how-to guide, he _had_ been very impressed with Alexa's knowledge of dark magic, and offered her a position as a researcher in his genetics lab. It was an incredibly prestigious opportunity for a girl straight out of high school; not to mention, the lab was on Sparx, and while a year ago if you'd told me I would be _excited_ to see more of Alexa after graduation, I would've said you were crazy, things change. Now, I couldn't be more happy to have her so close all the time.

I tuned back into the conversation to hear Alexa say, "It's really not that big of a deal…"

"Oh yes it is," I insisted, slinging an arm around her shoulder and bumping her hip lightly with my own. "You don't have to be modest, Lex; you earned this. It's an _incredible_ deal. Plus, it means I get to keep you around for longer." Laughing, I gave her a quick squeeze.

"My girlfriend's not just a pretty face," Derek said proudly, nuzzling her neck from behind. I saw her laugh even as her eyes rolled back a little at his touch. Lola's mom crossed her arms over her chest, lips pursing.

A faster song poured through the speakers, and I slipped my hand back into Ryan's (he'd been so silent lately, I'd almost forgotten about him). "Come on, Lex," I said, grabbing Alexa's arm with my other hand. "Let's go dance." I didn't need to ask her twice, though she and Derek soon split off from us and retreated to a dimly lit corner. I watched them go, sighing wistfully. There was no denying that I loved what I had with Ryan, but sometimes watching the two of them made me wish he was more like Derek: unable to keep his hands off me even for a second.

"It's just so… weird." Ryan's voice jolted me back to the present, and I banished the traitorous thoughts. I loved Ryan, and I wouldn't change him for anything in the world. "My ex-girlfriend and my current girlfriend getting along so well."

"Not everything is about _you_, Ry." I smacked him playfully on the arm. "Would you rather we went back to screaming at each other all the time?" I arched one brow pointedly.

He made a face. "Alright, you have a point. It's still strange, though."

"Whatever you want to say." The music turned into something slower and more romantic, and I didn't miss a beat in sliding my arms around his neck and resting my head against his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of soap and woodsy cologne and something else that was just intrinsically _Ryan_. Whenever I thought about all the ways my life had changed in the last year, good and bad, Ryan was the one thing that had remained constant (if you didn't count the Alexa incident last year, which I didn't anymore). _What did I ever do to deserve him?_

"Um, 'Liss? I have something for you." Gently nudging me off his shoulder, Ryan reached into his pocket, holding me at arm's length as he pulled out a small blue velvet ring case.

My mouth went dry. "Is that… that's not a…"

He laughed. "No, it's not an engagement ring. Not yet, anyways." My breath caught in my throat as he opened it up to reveal a delicate gold ring with a small but perfectly cut aquamarine stone. "I was going to give this to you for your birthday last year – it's your birthstone – but then… well, you know what happened last year." He stared at the ground, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "And then while I was waiting for the right time to give it to you, it suddenly became more than just a birthstone ring." His eyes locked onto mine, the intensity almost making me feel uncomfortable. "So it's not an engagement ring, but it's close. It's a promise ring – a promise that I will love you, Princess Alyssa of Sparx, for the rest of my life. And that one day down the road, when we're both a little older, I'll replace this aquamarine with a diamond."

"I-I don't know what to say," I choked out finally, unsticking my tongue from the roof of my mouth.

He smiled softly. "You don't have to say a word." With an incredible amount of grace (that I was sure I could have _never_ pulled off), he picked up my right hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger. The stone sparkled and flashed in the light – _the same color as ghost-Miriam's pendant_, it occurred to me.

It was strange; I hadn't thought of her much in the last few months – more of a conscious effort not to for fear of crying – but as my hand adjusted to the new weight on my finger, I had the strongest sense of her being here with me. Closing my eyes for a moment, I inhaled deeply, almost imagining I could smell her flowery perfume.

_You're okay, wherever you are, aren't you? And that means I have to really let you go now._

Opening my eyes, I suddenly realized we now had an audience. Unsurpising, I guess – it wasn't every day a teenage guy made this kind of declaration of affection. But that didn't change the fact that what I had to say next only had an audience of one. "You are incredible," I said softly, taking a step forward and wrapping my arms around his neck. "I love you so much." And then we were kissing, and my body felt like it was dissolving, fizzing like a sparkler, skin thrumming with electricity…

"Look up there!" someone cried. There were a few more gasps and exclamations as the Ryan-and-Alyssa show lost some of its viewers to whatever was going on up in the sky.

Curiosity (not to mention the need for air) finally won out, and when we broke apart I immediately tipped my head back to see the sky exploding in a riot of colors and sparks. "Fireworks," I said to myself. "Because this night couldn't get any more chick flick."

"I didn't hear you complaining earlier," Ryan said, tugging my attention back to him.

"Who said anything about complaining?" I murmured, before leaning in to kiss him again.

Maybe things hadn't always turned out the way I would have imagined them to, but who cares? For better or for worse, this is my life.

And I happen to think it's pretty damn awesome.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Predictably long AN ahead, so bear with me, folks.<strong>

**So... wow. Here we are, ch. 15 - also known as THE END. Sometimes I can't believe I've made it this far; I've been writing this series (because it really has become that, with all the extras I've added on) for four years now. This book alone topped out at almost 60,000 words (which I do believe means it wins the award for 'longest story of mine to date'), and I don't even want to _think_ about how much I've written for this world in total. Suffice to say, it's a lot.**

**And speaking of other stories in this universe, this chapter sure makes some references to them. Dr. Winters was a prominent character in the second arc of the prequel story, A Moment Like This, about Bloom and Baltor's relationship (if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you do). And how many of you are _dying_ to know what exactly Alyssa dropped in Haylee's cell? Well, you can find out - and read a whole lot more about Haylee and Icy - in the companion piece, called Tough Love, which is now online. :)**

**I wish I could say a personal thank-you to each and every person who's reviewed, favorited, or put this series on alert, because I love you all - but considering the sheer size of this thing, we'd probably be here for days if I did. So while you're reading this, just know how much I appreciated everyone who's stuck with me - and Alyssa! - through everything. It really means a lot.**

**The million-dollar question: What's next for me? Well, now that this monstrosity is finished, I am planning on taking a step back from fanfiction for a while, to try and work on some original stuff. Rest assured, though, lovelies, that I am not deserting you for good. I've still got thousands of plot bunnies playing volleyball in my brain, and sooner or later I'm sure one will end up whacking me on the head until I give it the attention it deserves. ;-) I'm still a die-hard Sparxshipper, and that's never going to change.**

**So it is with the absolute heaviest of hearts that I say goodbye to you all now. It has been an absolute pleasure for the last four years, but the time has finally come.**

**All my love,**

**- Authoress**

* * *

><p><strong>PS: Go read Tough Love! ;-)<strong>


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